


Loose Ends

by DeepLittleSOB



Series: Lizzy-verse [23]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Babysitting, Demons, F/M, Hunters & Hunting, Relationship(s), Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2018-10-23 21:46:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 62,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10727886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeepLittleSOB/pseuds/DeepLittleSOB
Summary: Lou's brother Derek needs some serious help, Benny's possibly dropping bodies, and while the hunters deal with all that... someone needs to watch Sammy.Part 23 of series.





	1. Old Ghosts Return

**Author's Note:**

> This is the twenty-third story in my series. I'm insane.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Supernatural world. I am just playing in their sandbox.

 

* * *

Ringing….

Ringing….

More ringing….

"What the fuck?"

Inhaling and lifting her head off the pillow, Lou looks next to her in bed. With the sunny morning, she can easily see that she's alone. It's Sunday and it doesn't surprise her. Sam is an earlier riser these days now that they have a home and a routine. He runs every damn morning. Lou gave up on every day running years ago. She's in great shape, has been since Purgatory, so she runs a couple times a week with him.

Today isn't one of those days.

With her hangover hitting her hard as she wakes, it was a rough night at her bar last night, she tries to open her eyes enough to find her cell phone on the nightstand. She searches blindly, hearing a book drop to the carpet in her bedroom when she knocks it off accidentally, before finding it.

One look at the screen has her confused. The area code is from her home state of Massachusetts. She doesn't receive calls from there very often these days.

Curious, she answers the call and brings the phone to her ear. She flops onto her back, head nestled into her pillow once more, and closes her eyes. In a groggy voice she greets, "Yeah?"

"Uh… Lou?"

"Yep, that's me," she confirms for the clearly hesitant guy on the other end. Assuming it's a fellow hunter, she asks through a yawn, "What you got for me?"

"I, uh… Lou I need your help."

Opening her eyes, she wrinkles her forehead as she looks at the ceiling of the bedroom. That voice is familiar. "Okay… who is this?"

"Louie, it's me."

Louie. There's only one other person still alive outside of Lizzy that calls her that. And this mystery caller just called her that.

Back upright and sitting up bolt straight with the realization, Lou inhales deeply once. "Holy shit. _Derek_?"

"It's me," her brother tells her, his tone a bit shaky. "I need help, Louie… and I'm pretty sure only you can help me."

"Where are you?" Lou asks, her voice automatically getting serious when she knows her one and only little brother is in trouble.

"In my apartment," he tells her.

"Where's that?" Her heart is beating wildly as she tries to focus and figure out what to do.

"Somerville," he answers quickly. "I locked the door but Lou… something's after me. I know it."

"How do you know?" Lou asks, getting out of bed. She pulls on some sweatpants and a t-shirt as she talks, putting the call on speaker phone.

"I just…." She hears the sigh of true doubt on the other line as he pauses. "I keep seeing people… uh, it's hard to explain."

"Well, try," Lou directs, her feet already pounding down the stairs of her home to find Lizzy.

"It's like I'm being followed or something."

"How so?" Lou asks as she sprints into the kitchen, hearing people down that way, as Derek explains. "How do you know for sure you're being followed?" She keeps him talking as she snaps her fingers at Lizzy. Her sister is pouring herself a cup of coffee and just going about her morning.

Lizzy gives her a confused look, Dean doing the same as he sits at the kitchen table with Sammy, both with a half-eaten bowl of cereal in front of them. Lou places her phone on the middle of the table and points to it with urgency, Dean and Lizzy now listening carefully.

"Everywhere I go I find someone looking at me weird… or hiding around a corner watching me," he tells his long-lost sister, the panic clear in his voice. "Last night I walked back from the bar alone and I swear to you someone was following me. I kept hearing the footsteps behind me but every time I turned around no one was there."

"Okay, that's unsettling," Lou tells him, making eye contact with Lizzy. She still looks confused. "But Derek, what makes you think this is my kind of thing and not just something… more normal?"

Lizzy's eyes pop wider than wide with the mention of Lou's brother's name. Lou just nods and goes back to concentrating on what she's being told.

"This morning… uh. This is fucked up…."

Dean takes that cue to pick up Sammy and his son's bowl of cereal. They head for the living room to keep the boy away from any more supernatural talk. Or swears. He knows Lizzy and Lou will catch him up later.

"I've seen a whole lot by now, kid," Lou assures him. "Try me. I doubt you can shock me."

"It's my cat," Derek tells her. "She's… weird."

"How so?"

"She won't come out of my closet," he explains. "She only ever hides in my closet when she was scared, like during a thunderstorm or something like that. She hasn't come out since last night, after I got followed home. Lou, look… I know you go after ghosts and whatever, and maybe this isn't your thing but… I'm freaked out. I just know something is wrong and…."

"And what?" Lizzy jumps in and asks, unable to keep quiet as her heart pounds in her chest with total worry.

"Wait… Lizard?" Derek asks, clearly recognizing the voice even after all this time.

"Hey, kid," Lizzy says, calling him the same name the girls always did. "I'm here. We're listening. Just say it." She knows he's holding back.

"Before I left the bar… I, uh… I was talking to this girl," he starts to explain and pauses again.

"And?" Lou asks, her voice getting impatient with concern.

"She… she was hitting on me. Asked me if I wanted her to come home with me… but I swear, at one point… her eyes looked black."

Lou squeezes her eyes shut, fists balled. Her anger threatens to topple her.

Lizzy sees it and pushes aside her own fear. She pats Lou on the shoulder and leaves the room, her feet bounding up the stairs. They all know she's going to pack her bag and probably Lou's too to get going on this.

"Derek, I need you to do some very important things for me _right now_ ," Lou pulls in her anger and focuses. "Do you have salt in the house?"

"Like table salt?" he asks, already sounding very skeptical.

"Yes… or even better, rock salt for the steps and sidewalk of your apartment."

"We have a big bucket of that stuff by the front lobby door."

"Grab it when we're done talking," Lou emphasizes her words. "Then I need you to lock yourself into your apartment and line the doors and windows with an unbroken line of the stuff."

"Louie, I have to go to work…."

"Not today you fucking don't!" Lou nearly shouts. "You're sick today. Call out."

"I have a huge report due…"

"Fuck the report!" Lou gets fired up at his usual stubborn ways. "You wanna live through this? You stay at home and wait for me to get there!"

"Wait… you're coming here?" Derek sounds shocked.

"This isn't a joke, Derek!" she tells him, her tone as serious as she can get it. "I know what this probably is and if you want my help you'll listen to me!"

"Okay, okay. I just… I mean, this shit is just kinda hard to believe, you know?"

"Still with this!?" Lou shouts at him. "You got a demon on your ass and you still won't believe me!?"

"Demon!?" Derek panics at the mention. "This still!?"

"You saw a girl with black eyes!" Lou shouts with pure anger at the phone on the table. "Why do you think they were black, numb nuts!?"

"I said I _thought_ they were black," Derek fights back. "I could have been seeing things…."

"You weren't," Lou says quietly this time and sighs heavily, pressing her palms to the table top. She squeezes her eyes closed. "Derek, you know what I told you about what happened that night."

"And you and Lizzy saw a lot of messed up stuff that night," Derek remembers. "You were in shock."

"We saw the truth… and the truth had black eyes," Lou reminds him of what she's always told him. "We saw it ourselves. It was a demon that killed our parents and now a demon is on _your_ ass. Derek, I'm not fucking around with you, I promise. I haven't even tried to contact you in years, just like you wanted. But now you're the one calling me for help with shit that you claim to not believe and, dude… you need to listen to me. Whether you believe it or not, just please listen to me this one time."

Derek, confused as ever, has to think quietly for a second.

"Even if you think it's silly and dumb, just do the things I'm asking you to do and I'll be there soon. What could it hurt, huh?"

She makes a very good point. "Fine. I'll do what you want me to do. I get salt… and whatever else you need. Guess it couldn't hurt."

Lou exhales with relief. "Good. We'll be on the next flight out and I'll call you when we land in Boston. Okay, so… do you have spray paint or chalk? Maybe a marker or something…."

* * *

His run coming to an end, Sam slows down when he reaches the top of their dead-end street. Five miles. In the early morning heat of the beginnings of summer. Not too bad.

Deep breaths in, Sam walks his way back to the house while he runs a hand through his damp hair to get it out of his face.

Thinking about what he left back in their room, a wife that's only wearing a pair of sheer underwear leaving little to the imagination and a bed sheet, he smiles. He can totally turn this into shower sex if he plays his cards right. Sure, she's hungover, but he can get her to tag along with the promise to do most of the work.

He's thinking about sex. Planning ahead. Lusting after a gorgeous woman. And he's not feeling awkward about it.

Lou has changed him so much. It's great.

With a smile on his face, Sam quickly makes it up the steps of the porch he and Dean rebuilt a year back. He opens the door to their home to find Dean and Sammy in the living room. Cartoons on, Sammy's occupied. Dean, not so much.

"What's going on?" Sam asks, face wrinkled as he can read the concern in Dean's expression right away.

"Lou's on the phone," he nods to the living room, speaking over Sammy's head as he sits in his lap. "With Derek."

Sam's eyes pop wide open. "Derek… _her_ _brother_!?"

"That's the one," Dean nods. "Not sure what's going on but sounds like something found him."

"Something like?" Sam wonders.

"Something with black eye maybe. I've only been able to catch things here and there from in here." Dean glances at his son. "Don't want Sammy hearing any of that."

Sam nods absently and walks in a rush for the kitchen. He finds Lou typing away at her laptop at the kitchen island, cell phone trapped between her shoulder and ear.

"Derek, just look at the email I sent you, please," her voice implores, fingers typing away.

When Sam glances over her shoulder, he sees the website for an airline pulled up on the browser. She's attempting to find two tickets to Boston for today. He slides the computer away from her and gives her a look, telling her silently to let him deal with that.

Lou mouths a 'thank you' to him.

"Yes, I know it seems insane. You also thought black eyed chicks were insane until last night. Just do what I fucking told you to. Lizzy and I will be leaving today. I'll be there as soon as I can. We will explain everything."

Sam tries to hear what Derek answers with but he can't. It's muffled. So, he just finds a flight out of Kansas City International for six hours from then. From their town of Smith Center to the airport it's about four hours, less if Lou drives, so this should be enough time if they hurry.

"Derek, don't be an ass," Lou rolls her eyes. "I'm going to help. This is why you called, isn't it?"

Sam knows they are bickering. He knows a sibling argument when he sees one, for sure.

"Just stay in your apartment. No work today." Lou sighs. "I get it. You have a presentation. Whatever. Just, please…. Thank you. Your life is worth more than some stupid fucking corporate presentation."

Sam smiles when she pulls the phone away from her ear, avoiding the scolding she's getting.

"I wasn't belittling your fucking career!" she yells back. "Do all the things I told you to do and we'll be there soon! Okay!?"

She waits for the affirmative answer.

"Good. Lizard and I will be there in…" she looks to Sam. He holds up ten then two fingers. "Twelve hours. Can you just sit tight until then, please?"

Lou's whole posture relaxes when he clearly promises to do as she asked.

"Good. Hang in there, kid. We'll be there soon."

She ends the call and looks at Sam.

"What the hell?" Sam asks.

"I know."

"You're brother!?"

"I know!" Lou says loudly, standing up and rubbing her forehead. "He needs help. He thinks he's being followed by demons and, from what he says, he's probably right."

"Why?" Sam asks. "And why now?"

"How the fuck would I know?" Lou gripes, frustrated. "Damn it. I need to pack."

"Okay, go do it. Catch me up on the drive to the airport?"

"I'll just drive and park the Mustang," she shakes her head. "It's a long trip and you don't need…."

"I'll drive you both. Don't worry about it. I'll print up your confirmation and you get what you need together."

"Thank you," she smiles sadly at him. She walks for him and plants a loving kiss on his lips for his understanding and help. She then stares at him a second, sighing with loss. "I wanted to fuck you when you were back from your run. You're all sweaty… and hot…."

Sam just huff a laugh. "I was planning on some shower time."

"Boring…"

"With you, dummy." Sam grins.

"Ugh, stupid brother being in trouble," Lou bitches and walks off for the stairs to pack.

Sam just shakes his head at her and click print on the laptop. As he makes his way to the small office at the end of a short first floor hallway, he hears his cell ringing from the kitchen where it's charging. He backtracks and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Sam!? Something's smelling awfully fishy around here and it ain't the craw fish, man."

Totally confused, Sam has to ask, "Who is this?"

"It's Martin!" the man shouts on the other end. "Creaser!"

His stomach drops. "Right. What's wrong?"

"I'm tailing that Benny vamp, you know, like you asked me to. And let me tell you, he's not the trustworthy boy scout your girl seems to think he is."

Sam face darkens with anger at hearing that. "What's going on, Martin?"

* * *

"We can be there by ten tonight," Lou assures her sister as they make their way down the stairs to the first floor of their house.

"Good. What do you think is going on?" Lizzy asks, confused as all hell by this whole thing.

"Wish I knew," Lou grumbles, unsure of what's happening but getting a sinking feeling nonetheless. "All I do know is that if Derek is calling me, then something is seriously…." They make it into the living room to find two men staring at them with very angry faces.

"Whoa. What's with the shitty moods?" Lizzy asks them right away.

"We got a call that's putting us in shitty moods," Dean coldly answers her as he puts his hands on his hips and squares off with the two women.

"Okay…" Lizzy trails off, confused still.

"A body dropped in Carencro, Louisiana," Sam takes over to explain. "Drained."

"And?" Lou asks, not getting it at all. Her face shows her annoyance.

"Benny's been in Carencro for a month now," Dean tells them.

The mood changes drastically at that.

"And how the fuck would you two know that?" Lizzy angrily questions.

"Martin Creaser, and old friend of our dad's," Sam tells them. "He's been… keeping an eye on him for us."

" _What_!?" Lizzy booms out with pure fire.

"You put a fucking _tail_ on Benny!?" Lou yells at them both. " _What the fuck_!?"

"He's a vampire!" Dean tells them, equaling their anger.

"He's a friend!" Lizzy reminds. "One that was there for me when I was alone."

"Fucking ditto!" Lou adds in.

"And he's the reason I'm even here right now!" Lizzy keeps going. "How fucking dare the two of you treat him like…."

"Like a monster?" Sam asks, not standing down in the least. "He is one."

"So, that mean you're having him followed because you want to _kill_ him or _fuck_ him?" Lou asks her husband, cutting as deeply as she can in the face of such an audacious move on their part. She's furious. She's looking for a deep burn on this one.

Sam's expression briefly shows his disappointment in her, but it switches back to anger quite quickly. Like usual, he chooses not to take her bait when she's mad at him. "We didn't kill him because you two wanted us to let him go."

"And now that someone's dead, that's on us," Dean explains, pointing between both his brother and himself. "We listened to you, gave a fucking vampire the benefit of the doubt, and now some chick is dead. Blood drained. In the same town Benny's been farting around in. That sound like Benny's holding it together to you two?"

Both women just glare with hatred at Dean and Sam when they can't answer them right away. Instead they turn to each other and ignore the men in the room completely.

"He wouldn't do this," Lizzy shakes her head, sure of it.

"No fucking way. Not after everything," Lou is sure of it.

"Well, he did," Sam cuts in, anger burning like a fire in his gut.

"Shut up!" Both Lizzy and Lou say to him loudly before looking back to each other, trying to have a conversation that will be productive.

"Had to be another vamp in the area," Lou suggests.

"Oh, totally," Lizzy wholeheartedly agrees.

"We can't just… let _them_ go deal with this on their own," Lou says to her sister, knowing the Winchesters and their stance on the Benny issue. They can't be trusted not to just kill the vampire without investigation.

"We're right here!" Dean gets mad, hands flying from his sides as they speak like the men aren't even there.

They don't even acknowledge him.

"No way. But Derek…"

"I know," Lou nods, both wanting to be there for their family member, even if he's estranged and not been the best brother for at least the past eight years.

They stare at each other, thinking it over.

"Shit. I'll go get Benny and see what's up in Louisiana," Lizzy gives in. "You go to Derek and make sure he's safe."

"Lizard…."

"It's fine," Lizzy shakes her head, making sure Lou knows that she understands. "You're his sister."

"So are you," Lou fights back with a sad smile.

"Yeah… but he doesn't know that yet," Lizzy half smiles. "Just make sure to take a picture of his face when you tell him, huh?"

Lou's face drops instead of smiles at the joke. "Tell Benny I said hi. And to keep his fucking nose clean, okay?"

"Of course," Lizzy nods, knowing Lou misses her former friend (and more) and it's killing her not to help him.

They both take a deep breath now that it's all settled.

"You gotta go," Lizzy hugs her sister. "Catch that flight. Keep me posted, okay?"

"Yeah. You better do the same."

Lizzy backs away from the hug. "And tell Derek to play nice or I'll tie him to a tree in the woods again."

Lou laughs at the childhood memory. "I won't mention that one to him. He'll tell me to fuck off."

Lizzy smiles. "Be safe. I love you." She kisses Lou's cheek.

Lou looks at Sam. "You still driving me to the airport?"

"Let's go," Sam stoically says, keys in hand as he heads for the door. He pulls it open and lets Lou through first, closing it behind him. Soon after, the Mustang engine roars to life and they're on their four-hour way to the closest airport.

Once the front door shuts, Lizzy's entire demeanor changes when she turns to look at her husband. "I need the car."

"No way," Dean denies instantly.

Her expression shows her shock and disappointment. "Are you forbidding me to take the car?"

"Maybe," Dean stubbornly responds, arms crossing over his chest.

" _Dean_. I need the fucking car."

"You're not taking Baby alone," he says no again. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am. You need backup."

"You'll fuck this up."

"I'll let you lead then."

Lizzy laughs with disbelief. "You don't know how to do that."

Dean rolls his eyes. "L, you're not going alone. That's stupid. Even if it isn't this Benny guy, which I highly doubt it isn't…"

"It's not!"

"Then it's some other vamp. Or a nest. You haven't been hunting in a while. You need back up."

Lizzy sighs. "You need to stay here with Sammy."

Shit. Sammy. They both stand there waiting for a solution to present itself. It doesn't.

Lizzy holds her hand out to him. "Keys."

Jaw clenches, Dean doesn't move.

"Dean, a person is dead. More people could be in trouble. Benny or not, someone needs to look into this."

Closing his eyes for a second, hoping to find an answer magically, nothing comes to him. Eyes open, he catches sight of the still fuming woman and he chooses to look away. Instead he glances outside the sliding doors in the kitchen. What he sees makes him realize that he does in fact have the perfect answer.

Dean smiles at Lizzy once before taking off for the backyard.

"What!?" Lizzy asks him as he moves quickly. No answer. She follows him.

Dean slides the glass door open and marches out to the swing set in their backyard. The one he built for his son when they moved in. The one he only dreamed of one day building for his one day son, both of which he never thought would exist in a million years.

"Hey, big guy!" Dean greets, wide smile in place.

"Hi, daddy!" Sammy grins back, his legs pumping away on the swing. He holds on tightly as Castiel stands behind him, pushing him.

"Hey, Cas," Dean grins, trying to be friendly and kind. He stands next to the angel. "How you doing today? Better?"

"I am," Castiel nods, watching the rushed way Lizzy runs across the grass to join them. He knows something is up already. "I think staying here, keeping a low profile as you said, it's been good for me."

"Good. Good. Gotta recharge those batteries, right?" Dean smiles wider, clapping the angel on the back.

"Cassie! You push me!" Sammy yells to his best friend when he starts to lose steam on the swing.

"Sorry," Castiel apologies when he realizes he stopped pushing with Dean and Lizzy's presence. He returns to pushing the child while he speaks to his parents. "What's going on?"

"I need to leave," Lizzy explains. "And Dean is being… Dean."

Castiel looks right at the man. "You are trying to keep her from leaving, I assume."

"Actually, the opposite," Dean tells him. "I'm trying to go with her."

"On a… mission?" Castiel cryptically asks, glancing at Sammy out of the corner of his eyes. He is always careful with his words around the boy that knows nothing about the hunting world.

"Yeah. It's Benny… he might need me," Lizzy tries to explain. Castiel was there in Purgatory. He knows the bond she made with Benny and what his help meant to her.

"Benny is in trouble?" Castiel asks.

"Or he's dropping bodies," Dean counters quickly.

Castiel ponders that for a moment. "Benny did promise to stick to a non-human diet when he returned to Earth. As much as we may have had our contentious moments, I don't think he would lie to you." He says this strictly to Lizzy.

"Exactly!" Lizzy sighs with relief. Someone believes her point of view on this. Thankfully.

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Castiel wonders, hoping his Elizabeth isn't about to take off alone.

"No way. You could use a little more down time, buddy," Dean jumps in and denies the idea. Castiel does need more time to rest… and Dean need to be in on this hunt. "I'm going with her."

"What about Samuel?" the angel asks.

"I'm Samuel!" Sammy yells out with a bright smile, liking his full name now that Castiel always uses it with him.

"Yes. You are," Castiel assures him in his usual stiff way.

"I was thinking you could stay here and babysit," Dean grins wide.

Both Lizzy and Castiel's face drop at the idea.

"Aw, come on!" Dean keeps trying. "You're great with him. And if anything happens, who better to be here to help him? You can heal anything. And last I checked, you're way more powerful than we are. Hell, he's probably safer in your hands than ours." He huffs a laugh but realizes the truth of the statement. Actually, this is a damn good idea.

"Dean, I don't know…" Castiel attempts to say no but Dean keeps trying.

"You're his best friend, Cas."

"No…"

"Hey, big guy!" Dean calls to his son. Sammy looks at him. "Who's your best friend in the whole wide world?"

"Cassie!" Sammy smiles with glee. "He's my best friend, daddy! We drawed pictures and he telled me 'bout bees. I not afraid of them anymore, daddy! Cassie say I don't need to be afraid. Bees are good! They make flowers and fruit… like apples."

Dean just looks back to Castiel and gestures to his son as evidence of his statement.

Castiel rolls his eyes. "I don't even know what to feed him."

"Mostly peanut butter," Dean shrugs, joking.

"And diapers...?" Castiel looks horrified.

"They're not as bad as you think. You get used to it pretty easily, actually… wait, can't you just snap your finger, and poof, new, clean diaper?"

"I guess I could… but then we run into the issue of Samuel discovering magic and a whole world of things I believe you want him to be ignorant of."

"He's two. He won't remember," Dean plays it off.

"I could also wipe his memory if need be, I guess," Castiel start to think aloud. "I do think parenting, though very difficult for humans, could be quite easy with my personal advantages."

"See! You're like a one-man Babysitter's Club," Dean grins with triumph. He turns to Lizzy while jerking a thumb in Castiel's direction. "Huh? Eh?"

"Shit," Lizzy sighs quietly to herself, hiding the swear from her son. "Cas, as much as I'd rather you come with… I need to prove to Dean who Benny really is. He needs to come."

Castiel nods to her, understanding.

"Will you be our babysitter?" she asks him, knowing how awkward this whole thing may end up being.

Castiel stares blankly at her for a moment. He then takes the ropes of the swing Sammy is sitting on and stops it from moving. Picking Sammy up, the boy molding himself into Castiel's side like it's second nature, he holds Sammy on his hip and looks him over. The decision is easy from there.

"Elizabeth, I will guard your son with my life. You have nothing to worry about."

Nodding with true anxiety, Lizzy bites her lip before saying. "Good. This is… good. A… Castiel… will be caring for my toddler son and he will be safe as can be."

"Yeah, he will," Dean grins, happy to see this all work out.

"Um… we really need to jet but I'll make a schedule for you and a list of what you can feed him per meal. Uh, he'll let you know what he likes and doesn't…."

"We go to park, Cassie!?" Sammy asks his best friend with wide, bright eye.

Castiel just looks to Lizzy for confirmation, his own expression now nervous.

"Don't do anything you aren't comfortable with," she whispers at him before answering her boy. She takes Sammy into her arms and hugs him. "Not today, big guy. Maybe another day."

"Okay," he says with slight disappointment.

"Baby, daddy and I need to leave for a few days."

"You workin'?" he asks his mother, knowing the usual way things can go.

"Just a little bit, yeah," she nods. "My friend needs help."

"You friend need help?" he echoes.

"Absolutely. And I want to be a nice person and nice people help others, right?" she reminds him, repeating a lesson about being a kind person to him. She's been doing her best to teach him how to be kind to others through his most formative years.

"Yes," he nods.

"But… while we are gone… you're gonna have Cassie stay with you," she explains. "He's gonna be watching you so you have to listen to him. What he says, goes. Okay?"

"You gonna stay with me, Cassie!?" Sammy lights up bright, so excited.

"Yes," Castiel answers, the slight shake in his tone obvious. He's nervous. "I will be your guardian until your parents return."

"Yeah!" he cheers, too ready for fun times with his best friend. "We play and we draw! And we watch Nemo!"

"What's a Nemo?" Castiel asks.

"It's a fish… you'll see," Dean leaves it at that. He then steals Sammy from his mother. "Come on kid. You're helping me pack!"

"I a good helper, right daddy?" Sammy asks his father.

Dean pulls him up onto his shoulders so Sammy's grabbing his hair to hang on as they head for the house. "The best helper. You can fold my underwear."

"Ew! No daddy!" Sammy giggles.

"What!? They're clean this time…."

They disappear into the house and Lizzy looks at her angel. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that's what Dean was up to."

"It's fine, Elizabeth. I think I can handle a two-year-old," Castiel assures. "I did march into hell to save a soul twice, became god, and spent thousands of years as warrior for heaven. I think I can successfully watch Samuel for a few days."

Lizzy looks at him with pity and places a hand lovingly on his shoulder. "I'll remind you that you said that in few days…."

* * *

 


	2. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long this took! A month for less than 4,000 words!? SHAME!

 

The Mustang is incredibly silent.

Aside from the engine and the Tom Petty album Lou put on, neither has said anything for the first hour of the ride. Sam's too pissed that Lou let a vampire go and now it's killed someone. Lou's too pissed that Sam won't put his trust in her and believe that Benny is good people. Both are just too damn pissed to even try to speak.

But it's starting to get awkward. Someone has to break the silence. Lou is hardheaded as all hell, more so than even a Winchester, so Sam knows it has to be him.

"What's the plan?" Sam asks her, looking to start any conversation he can.

"I get to Boston," Lou answers, hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly.

"And then?" he asks her, his voice tight with tension.

"I get to Derek and kill whatever thinks it was a smart idea to go after my brother," she answers, voice full of attitude and a silent yet petulant 'duh'.

"Okay… but you can't bring any weapons on board," Sam reminds her, aiming to talk logistics before she gets on an airplane.

"I have an old stockpile in a storage space in Waltham. I can get whatever I need there. Have some shotguns and knives… some old salt bags and a rosary or two. I'll be fine."

She never glances at him once through the terse conversation. Her eyes remain glued to the road as her shoulders tighten up with stress.

Sam doesn't miss the body language. He's learned that Lou speaks volumes with her body.

"How you gonna track down the demon you know nothing about?" Sam wonders, pushing her to speak.

"I don't know, Sam! I have to get there first… like always! Get off my ass," Lou explodes with anger at his prodding. She's not over any of the crap he pulled so she's not ready to play nice yet.

"I just want to know you're prepared," Sam counters.

"Whatever," she grumbles.

Once more, the silence takes over and it's highly uncomfortable.

Lou's been stewing in her fury ever since they got in the car. She just can't believe Sam, her own husband, would be so fucking sneaky. Dean, she'd expect this from. Not Sam. She and Sam are open about everything.

Or so she thought.

"Fuck you, Sam," Lou rockets out before she could rethink the offensive statement.

"Fuck me!?" Sam gets insulted right off.

"Yup. Right in the ass," Lou stands by her words.

"No, Lou. Fuck _you_ ," Sam says with force. "You got someone killed!"

"No I didn't!" she yells right back. "Benny didn't do this!"

"Yeah, he probably did!"

"You don't know that!"

"Lou, what are the chances that a girl gets killed by a vampire in the same town that a vampire's been living… and it's not that vampire that did it!?" Sam challenges. "If it walks like a duck and sucks blood like a duck…."

"I vouched for him, Sam!" Lou presses on. "I told you he was solid. I told you he was cool and wasn't into bleeding people and you put a hunter on him anyways!"

"Because he's dangerous!"

"You didn't trust me!" Lou finally lets it out.

Sam pauses there to look out the side window. He knew this was the part that bothered her the most. Yes, it's angering her that he had someone watch Benny because she knows and believes in him. But he went against her. He didn't _trust_ her.

"I married your ass because I trust you," she continues in a very acidic tone. "I always will. And that's really hard for me to do…."

"I know that," Sam fires out, meaning it despite his harsh tone.

"And I had hoped that you married me because you trusted me," Lou spills. "I get that I'm the one far more likely to fuck up out of the two of us. I'm a pain in the ass and I've not always proven my trustworthiness to you. But I've clawed my way back from that and I feel like I've earned some trust back!"

Sam can't answer to that. She has earned his trust.

"I've… I've proven myself to you over and over again," Lou reminds. "I've worked through a lot of my shit to do that. You should trust me."

"I do," Sam swears to her.

"Bullshit!" Lou gets mad all over again.

"I trust you, Lou!" Sam yells back, not letting her dominate this argument. "I just don't trust a monster!"

"He's a good dude!"

"And I thought Ruby was a good one, too!" Sam lets it all fly. He's trusted evil before. He never should have.

"Good point! You could fuck Ruby but you can't trust my judgement on one vampire?"

"You fucked Benny!"

"I was a monster at the time! Doesn't count!" she yells in rebuttal. "You were human. What was your excuse?"

"There was none and that's the point. I shouldn't have trusted Ruby. Or Brady. And all the other demonic asshats that tailed me my whole life. This is about me! It's about you learning from all my stupid mistakes! It's about how I don't trust anything inhuman, not anymore!" He exhales hard, sitting back in the passenger seat. "I'm not letting some vampire trick you into thinking he's good when he's not."

Lou shakes her head when she thinks about it. "We're so fucking damaged."

Sam just huffs a laugh in agreement.

"I know you've been burned, but I swear to you, when Lizzy reports back that Benny didn't do this… you'll have to trust me on this one."

"If she can say, without a doubt, Benny didn't kill that girl… then I'll try."

"Try?" Lou questions, wishing he could just plain trust instead of trying to trust.

"Might be the best I can do," Sam remains honest.

"So shitty," Lou bitter comments to herself before glancing at him. In a still sharp tone, she says to him, "Sorry for bringing up the whole fucking Ruby thing. That was over the line."

Sam nods, knowing it was.

"I was pissed and wanted to hurt you. Now… I feel like an asshole about it."

Looking at her profile, Sam nods once. "Thanks for saying that."

"Yeah…" Lou accepts.

"And I know… the Benny thing, what you guys had…."

"It was a whole foxhole thing," Lou quietly explains her physical relationship with the vampire and friend. "All superficial. And a desperate grab for comfort."

Sam nods, still not honestly past it. "Just a friend."

"With benefits. That's all."

Sam pauses, thinking. "You know, once upon a time… _I_ was a friend with benefits."

Lou just glances at him with upset. "You think I'm gonna leave you for the vampire, don't you?"

Sam huffs. "No, I don't think you're gonna leave me for Benny. It's just… weird to think about."

"I generally try to just forget about that fact that your dicks been inside a demon. Maybe you should try the same."

"That easy, huh?"

"It can be." Lou nods once, knowing it's how she copes with Sam's many past indiscretions and bad choices.

The silence between them settles back in for another mile.

"Uh…" Lou's voice remains upset and hard. She sighs with frustration. "I love you."

"Yeah. Love you, too," he answers back, tone also still irritated.

"Still pissed at you."

"I'm pissed at _you_."

Lou rolls her eyes. "Gonna be a long three more hours," she complains as they keep speeding down the highway to the airport.

* * *

The Impala is incredibly silent.

Aside from the engine and the Seger album Dean put on, neither has said anything for the first hour of the ride. Dean's too pissed that Lizzy let a vampire go and now it's killed someone. Lizzy's too pissed that Dean won't put his trust in her and believe that Benny is good people… and that she's had to leave her son yet again for a job she no longer wants to do.

Someone has to break the silence, though.

"You think Cass can seriously handle this?" Lizzy wonders aloud, glancing briefly at Dean for the first time since they pulled out of the driveway.

"The guy broke into Lucifer's cage on his own. I think he can handle a toddler for a couple days," Dean answers, tone sour.

"I just hope he calls if he has questions," Lizzy worries. "Sammy's a handful."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you know," Dean grumbles.

"I know, right?" Lizzy huffs, thinking how right he is. Sammy is very much like his father. Then she rethinks his statement. "Wait, are you calling _me_ difficult?"

"Are you kidding with that question?" Dean fires back.

Lizzy's eye bug out of her head with disbelief. "Dude! You do realize that you are the most frustrating person alive, right?"

"Compared to you? Pff!" Dean childishly rebuts. "You're so fucking stubborn. If I wasn't already an alcoholic, you'd drive me to be one."

"Fuck you!" Lizzy fires back. "I am absolutely nothing compared to the frustrating-as-fuck asshole that you are."

"L, since the day we met, my party line has been 'yes, dear'."

"You finally lost your shit! Because that is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard in my life!" Lizzy gets too fired up, her face turning red with her anger at him. "You never listen to anyone but your warped self! And it's never once worked out for you!"

"You're right! I married you, didn't I?" Dean spits out, immediately regretting it.

There's a silence in the car, air thick with hurt feelings. "Baby. Ouch," Lizzy tells him simply, her voice soft and filled with pain.

"Yeah, that was too far," he grumbles in admittance. "Look, we'll just admit that we're both stubborn dicks, okay?"

"Fair," Lizzy agrees.

"Okay. And can we just admit we're pissed because we aren't on the same page right now?"

"Because you don't trust me," Lizzy answers, sitting back heavily, arms crossed as she watches the passing trees. She isn't mad so much about this. She's sad. She's let down that they're once more in this distrustful place and it's once more taking its toll on their relationship. "The last time one of us couldn't trust the other… it got ugly."

"And I don't want that again," Dean admits, their separation being one of the most truly painful times in his life. "But you lied first."

"What are you, five?"

"And what the hell am I supposed to do with my wife hanging out with a friggin' vampire?" Dean reminds her of what this is all about. "Am I not supposed to worry about that?"

"Dean, you worry about everything," Lizzy rolls her eyes. "And I know that, even if I tell you that he's safe and a good guy, you can't trust me about it."

"Of course, I trust you about it!"

"Then what the fuck is the problem here!?"

"I don't trust a vampire!" Dean booms out, making it clear that he still has faith in her.

Lizzy shakes her head, huffing in annoyance. "Lou's right. You guys are racists."

"No, we're hunters!" Dean strongly reminds her. "We know what the evil shit out there can do! We've both seen what vampires are like first hand. Remember when Lou turned?"

"No, I forgot," Lizzy responds with extreme sarcasm as she'll never forget Lou turning and the mess it created from there. "And if Lou, who turned and has been a vampire before, still trusts Benny… what the hell are we all butting heads over this for!? Who would know better than Lou!?"

" _I'm not losing you again_!"

The force and volume of his voice is what puts Lizzy into a stunned silence. They keep fighting over this issue because she thought it was all about his mistrust. Maybe it isn't just that.

"How would you lose me if I'm friendly with a vampire?" Lizzy asks honestly, her voice calm and collected now. She needs him to speak, not shout, in order to understand him.

"I… I don't know," Dean sputters out. "But I can't take you disappearing again. I can't do that. And any threat to you… I'm not just gonna sit by and let it happen."

"Benny isn't a threat to me," Lizzy switches it up and aims for sincerity. "Benny is the honest-to-god reason why I'm here and not still in Purgatory… or dead. He taught me everything I needed to know to survive that place. He showed me how to make weapons and told me about the portal… he's never going to end my life. He saved it!"

Dean keeps quiet. She's making sense but something still just won't sit right about the whole benny thing. He can't let this vamp go, it knowing Lizzy and all about her. Benny could come for her. He could turn her. Dean could lose his wife again. Even if she says it won't happen… he knows it could.

"I know you trust him. I know you believe in him. I'm just having a hard time seeing how being acquainted with a vampire can end well for us. That's all."

Lizzy quietly nods, thinking. "Hot Shot, I know I'm asking a lot… but you need to give him a chance. When we get there, we need to get Martin off Benny. Tell him we'll handle it and send him on his way. Then… we figure out what's going on down in Louisiana, take out the vamp that actually killed someone, and you need to sit down with Benny and see what I see in him. Or at least see something other than a bloodthirsty monster."

When done, Lizzy takes a very deep breath. She needed to let that out, probably has since Dean first met Benny and freaked out. He's a good friend, not a monster. Well, not _just_ a monster.

"I don't like it, L… but if you're this sure and this pigheaded about it…." He stops there. Giving in has never been easy for Dean. "Fine. I'll try…."

"Thank you," Lizzy immediately relieves.

"I said _try_!" Dean points out. "But I am what I am…."

"Okay, Popeye," Lizzy quietly laughs with his choice of words.

Dean bites his tongue with a clenched jaw, trying to let her shit timing to make fun pass. "I've been the same way for a long time now. I was raised a certain way."

"And you're far better than that," Lizzy says with pure certainty.

"You say that…."

"I've always said that," Lizzy reminds him. She sighs heavily and reaches over, placing her hand onto his forearm as he drives. "And I'll always believe it."

Dean looks over to her, seeing the sincerity, before looking back to the road. "You're sucking up."

"Is it working?" she grins.

He won't answer.

"Nice," Lizzy smiles slightly, leaning over the front seat to kiss his cheek, hoping she's gotten through to him at least a little.

* * *

The house is silent.

Generally, it isn't so quiet. Sammy makes sure of that. However, there's a stalemate going on of epic proportions and neither parties are willing to budge on the issue at hand.

Sitting on one end of the kitchen table, hands folded on the smooth surface and chin resting on hands, is Sammy. His green eyes are locked on the blue ones challenging him directly across the table.

Staring back is Castiel, hands also folded and chin also on hands. They mirror each other with narrowed gazes.

"I do not think it's wise," the angel tells the young man.

"I wanna go to the park," Sammy continues to fight for what he dearly wants today.

"I would prefer that we didn't leave the house," Castiel responds calmly.

"Daddy said we go to the park today," Sammy rebuts simply.

"Your father isn't here," Castiel reminds him.

"Daddy said."

"And I'm in charge of you for now. I wouldn't be comfortable bringing you out of the house, at least not yet."

"Daddy promised!" Sammy starts to lose his cool, sitting up sharply.

The angel sighs, frustration building as he leans back in his chair. "But he isn't here. And I am…."

"I want daddy!" the child all out screams, his own frustrations exploding.

"Don't yell!" Castiel booms out in response when he can't quite figure out what to do with the very strong-willed child. They've been in a stalemate for a near half hour already.

Sammy's eyes grow two sizes as he stares at his best friend, the one that has never once raised his voice at him. This was scary. And confusing. Why is Cassie mad at him? He just wants to go to the park, like he was told he would.

Little green eyes well up with unshed tears and Castiel can feel the absolute shattering of his heart and his determination.

"You yell at me," Sammy says quietly, looking down into his lap, hands dropped to his sides as he suddenly looks two times smaller in his kitchen chair made for full grown adults.

When Castiel sees a silent tear drop off the little boy's cheek and onto his lap, he knows he didn't handle this correctly. He rolls his eyes and thinks hard, already seeing that his babysitting could have been a hasty decision.

"Samuel," Castiel starts, standing up from his chair to walk to Sammy's. He crouches to the floor next to the little boy and looks at him. Sammy won't peer up from his lap. "Samuel, please look at me."

He listens, watery eyes on the angel.

"I'm sorry," he tells his young friend. "I know this seems awfully unfair, but I am not quite prepared for taking you out into the world."

"I just wanna go to the park," Sammy responds, not getting quite what Castiel is trying to explain.

"I understand that. And I know your father told you he would bring you to the park today. But… I'm a little new at this babysitting thing. I don't really know how to perform any task as a primary caretaker of a young child. I'm starting to see that maybe I wasn't as ready as I had assumed."

With all the big words, the two-year-old just looks back at Castiel with confusion.

"I think I am a bad babysitter," he clarifies.

"You my friend," Sammy remind the centuries old angel. He sniffles and reaches out to his buddy, his hands on his cheeks. "You take care of me."

And if that doesn't just make even the most hardened warriors just simply melt into a puddle…

"I will try to," Castiel nods as the boy holds his face.

"We go to the park now?" Sammy asks, grin wide and award winning.

Castiel can see just how an entire year with just his father while Lizzy was in Purgatory has affected Sammy. He's using his charm to get what he wants. He knows his smile and his sucking up can get him what he wants. This boy truly is a small Dean.

"I'll make you a deal," Castiel says, thinking on his feet. "Today, we stay here. We can draw, play outside, eat whatever you want for dinner even."

"Chicken nuggets!" Sammy shouts immediately, gripping Castiel's cheeks with excitement. And there it is again. Just like his father, the way to appease Sammy is through his stomach.

"Chicken nuggets. And ice cream for dessert," Castiel wheels and deals.

"Yeah!" Sammy cheers, hands off the angel's cheeks and clasps them together.

"And tomorrow, if everything goes well here with just the two of us… I will take you to the park."

"Okay!" Sammy smiles wide and happy.

"Really?" Castiel disbelieves that it was this easy to fix the situation.

"We go outside!" Sammy directs and climbs down from his chair, pushing Castiel lightly out of the way. He then books it to the sliding door that leads to the backyard. "Come on! You push me on the swing!"

Blinking once, Castiel realizes that this whole thing is going to be exhausting and insane. Figuring out children, their ever-changing emotions and desires, is going to be impossible. He's only lived with the child for a week. He doesn't know him all that well. He's seen the way Dean and Elizabeth can appease him without always letting him win. They made it look easy. He assumed it would be easy.

This is _not_ going to be easy.

"Come on, Cassie!" Sammy shouts from outside, his voice excited.

The angel stands tall, sighs once, squares his shoulders, and heads outside.


	3. Bees and Pork Sandwiches and Gay Flirting and Zorro Masks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever to get done! I am averaging 31 days between posts! AHHHHHH! I'm sorry to all you patient and lovely and beautiful and smart and wonderful people!

* * *

"No, no,no, no," Sam shakes his head as Lou pulls into the drop off bay at the airport. Through the windshield he points to the long-term parking lot. "Get a spot."

" _Why_?" Lou gets mad right away. He planned to come all along. She knows it.

"You know why," Sam simply tells her, reaching into the backseat, grabbing his duffle back he stashed behind the passenger side. He pulls it into his lap and looks at her. "It's still a three ounce carry on limit, right?"

"You serious?"

"Well, I haven't flown in a while…."

"This whole ride… you said nothing!?" Lou gets pissed all over again.

"I was just giving you ample time to invite me along and use the ticket Lizzy won't be." Sam shrugs innocently.

Lou shakes her head and pulls up into the drop off bay. "This is a family thing. I got it."

Sam wrinkles his face with the painful words. "Harsh," he simply says.

"Shit. I didn't mean you weren't family."

"You did. And I get that you and Derek probably need the time to figure out your crap without the husband he's never met around. But… a demon is a demon. You need back up. Go park in the lot."

"No," Lou refuses, stubbornness her Achilles heel. She opens the driver's side door and makes to step out.

"Yes," Sam counters, grabbing her arm to prevent her from exiting. "Look, you know me well enough. If you don't let me come along…."

"You'll be on the next flight anyways," Lou huffs petulantly and sits back in her seat. Arms crossed, she gives him a dirty look.

Sam smiles. He won. "You gonna park the car, or…."

"Bite my ass," Lou complains hard and shuts the driver's side door. She eats her pride and pulls away from the curb, heading for the long-term parking. "I don't like how sneaky and stubborn you're becoming."

"I've just been learning from the best, dear," Sam smirks patronizingly.

* * *

"Ah!" Sammy shouts and launches himself off the swing he's sitting on. He runs away, fear all over him, as he screams out.

"Samuel!?" Castiel panics a bitch with the sudden change in his mood. One second ago, they were enjoying the day outside. Sammy being pushed by Cassie on the swing. He loves that. Now, Sammy's on the opposite side of the backyard and freaking out.

"Bee!" Sammy answers, still shouting with fright.

"B? Like the letter? Or…."

"Bumble bee! Ah!" Sammy keeps yelling.

Castiel relaxes instantly. "Oh, Samuel… you don't have to be so scared of a bee."

"It's gonna sting me!" Sammy keeps getting scared, running about when a bee comes closer to him. He sprints for Castiel and runs right into his legs.

"It's not going…." Castiel tries to explain but Sammy isn't listening. Instead, he's pulling open the bottom of the trench coat and trying to hide himself under it.

"Cassie! Make it go away!" Sammy pleads from under the tan fabric.

This actually makes Castiel smile.

"No. I won't make the bee go away," Castiel very evenly explains, keeping calm to show there is no need to fear the insect. He then reaches down and picks up the frightened child, holding him on his hip.

"No!" Sammy yells when he's exposed again, eyes darting about for the evil flying offender.

"The bee is gone, Samuel. Calm down," Castiel tells him, holding tight and looking right at the boy. "Deep breath."

Sammy listens and breathes deeply once. He starts to relax when he can see the lack of fear in his best friend.

"Bees are not to be feared, Samuel."

"One stinged mommy!" Sammy loudly fights. "She sitted on it and it stinged her butt!"

Castiel fights a smile. "That's unfortunate."

"She yelled bad words and it hurt her. Bees sting people!"

"But they don't want to."

"Yes, they do!"

"No, they don't want to sting you. I promise," Castiel explains.

"They don't?" Sammy questions, starting to believe his friend.

"Not at all. Bees are actually good. We need them very much."

"Why?"

"Well, because they make all the plants and flowers grow," Castiel tries to explain as he starts to walk over to the perennial flowers Lizzy planted along one of the lengths of the wooden fence in the backyard.

"How they do that?" Sammy asks, his honest wonder quite cute.

"Well, the bees are always after nectar," Castiel starts to spell it all out, how bee work to keep everything growing. "See the bees landing on the flowers?"

Castiel points to the purple and yellow blooms, bees buzzing all about and landing in the middle of each one.

"Yeah," Sammy quietly answers, clutching tightly to the angel's tan coat as he watches the black and yellow bad guys quietly and innocently flit from flower to flower.

"They are collecting the nectar in the center of the flowers. It's sweet and they use it to make honey back at their hives," Castiel explains with a straight face and tone, the topic of great interest to him once. "As they collect nectar, they also take pollen with them…."

* * *

"Hey," Lizzy points out the windshield to a sign for a bar-b-que joint just up ahead. "Late dinner!"

Dean gives the tempting sign, complete with cartoon character pig holding a plate of ribs like a cannibal, a good look. Then his eyes hit the road again. "Nah."

" _Nah_!?" Lizzy nearly shouts with shock. "What do you mean, _nah_!? This is Texas. That's bar-b-que."

"So?" he dismisses.

"It's bar-b-que from Texas!" Lizzy reiterates.

Dean keeps quiet.

"I… I… ugh. Well, shit," Lizzy complains and takes a folding knife out of her back pocket. He opens the silver blade and holds it out to Dean. "Let me touch this to your skin."

"Ha-fucking-ha," Dean grumbles. "We're making good time. I'd rather just get to Louisiana."

"Dean… we can stop for one meal. Nothing is going to happen in those few minutes it takes for you to unhinge your jaw and swallow a pig whole."

"Well, I'm not willing to take that chance." Dean sighs quietly. "I'd rather just get there and start damage control before he kills anyone else."

Lizzy sits back in her seat, nodding angrily. "Guilty until proven innocent."

"Bingo," Dean affirms.

Squeezing her eyes closed tightly and rubbing her temples, Lizzy does something she's never been good at doing. She stuffs the fire down and doesn't let Dean's pessimism get to her and lead to the outburst she'd love to let out. "Fine. Since I can't get through that notoriously thick skull of yours, how about you pull over for a bathroom break."

"Quick one."

"At the bar-b-que joint." Lizzy arches an eyebrow at him.

"We're not sitting down to eat."

"Nope, just pee… and to buy a couple pulled pork sandwiches to go."

"I'm not eating pulled pork in the Impala while I drive," Dean tells her with obviousness. She should know better by now.

"No, you can eat it while I drive," she offers, hoping to suck up and get on his good side. "I'll eat when you're done and get back behind the wheel."

Dean glances at his wife, the hopeful smile plastered on her face, and he melts a little. He hates that she's the only one that can do this to him. She can make him bend when in any other situation, with any other person, he wouldn't in the least. "Fine."

He puts on the blinker at the last second and pulls into the dirt parking lot of the bar-b-que stop.

Lizzy's grin goes full wattage, knowing that she won something very little. Sure, he's the one in the wrong about this whole Benny thing, but Lizzy's never done well when at odds with Dean. She hates that feeling of discomfort and that intangible something that stands like a roadblock in the middle of their relationship. She just needs to smooth it over a little before heading into a very difficult situation.

She needs him to trust her. And food always makes things go better with Dean.

* * *

* _Ding_ *

"Fucking _finally_!" Lou cheers when the seatbelt light goes off on the overhead warning lights.

With curiosity, Sam watches Lou open her safety belt and jump out of her aisle seat in the small plane headed to their transfer in Chicago. She opens the overhead compartment and yanks her carry-on bag down. She pulls a couple books and a leather-bound journal out before replacing the bag and plopping back into her seat. She starts by opening the journal.

"Never seen that one before," Sam comments, nodding to the handwritten pages.

"It's not mine… technically," Lou answers in short, flipping through for something specific. "But… it's kinda mine."

"Then who's…?" Sam starts to ask but when he really looks at the handwriting he already knows. "Bobby."

"Yep." She keeps turning pages.

"But I've seen his journal. That's not it."

"Nope. It's mine. And Lizzy's… kinda."

"But I know what your journal looks like. I gave it to you. And Bobby never wrote in it."

"I know."

Sam just stares at her and waits. She doesn't look up. When Lou is annoyed she can be one stubborn bitch. "You're gonna make me ask."

"When Lizzy and I started hunting, Bobby decided to start a journal of all our hunts. We'd kinda report back after every hunt and he'd write it all down here, adding info that we might need in the future. Mostly it's ghosts and small stuff, but later it gets a little heavier… a-ha!" She points to a specific page with glee. "Got it!"

"What is it?" Sam questions as he leans over to read along, his curiosity always trumping everything else, even annoyance with someone.

"Okay, so… early in our all-pro hunting careers, Lizzy and I ran into this demon. We had no idea what to do, freaked out, and long story short… I recited an exorcism with Bobby over the phone feeding me every Latin word."

"Sounds hairy," Sam comments, remembering when he was young and new to everything supernatural. There were some very terrifying moments. A demon when he was inexperienced? Too much to handle. Hell, even that demon Dean and he dealt with on a plane when he was just twenty-two was horrifying enough and he had been in the hunting game since he was nine.

"It was. And the demon said some weird shit to us that totally creeped me out at the time."

"Like?"

Lou points to the list of quotes she gave to Bobby over the phone right after they exorcised the demon. "I know what your brother did."

Sam looks at her with renewed interest mixed with massive concern. "That's… uncomfortable."

"I know. He also said, 'Derek will burn' and 'Your family is cursed'," she explains without a worry. "You know, that last one he said to both Lizzy and me. Huh. He must have known my dad was a whore. Fucking demons and their knowing all kinds of shit." Lou buries herself back into the journal.

Rendered speechless for a moment as he processes her lackadaisical attitude, Sam then asks her, "What the fuck is wrong with you!?"

Immediately, the woman in front of them seated next to her young son turns around and shoots him a nasty look for swearing so loudly.

"Sorry," Sam quickly spits out.

She turns back around, appearing no less annoyed.

"Why are you asking what the fuck is wrong with me?" Lou wonders, the woman turning around sharply once more, even more pissed. Lou rolls her eyes. "He already heard the word. What's one more time?"

"Just keep it down," Sam tells Lou as the woman in front of them fumes, arms crossed as she turns back around once more. "And I'm asking what's wrong with you because seriously, what's wrong with you? You had a demon say all this to you and it didn't occur to you that it could be an issue?"

"At the time, yes," Lou says honestly. "But then… I don't know. I just thought that demons were assholes and they were messing with me. They _do_ sometimes do that…."

"Yeah, sometimes…."

"And then nothing came of it. So, I let it go."

"Well, nothing came of it until _now_ ," Sam counters. "What info do you have on it?"

"Not much," Lou shakes her head. "We were in Oklahoma for a haunting and somehow a demon found us. It stalked us for a few days, Lizzy caught a glimpse of black eyes, we called Bobby, made a plan to lure it, recited the exorcism, demon gone."

"Did you ever ask Derek about it?" Sam has to know.

"Nope."

"What!? Why not?"

"Because every time I called him he wouldn't answer the phone," Lou tells him. "You already know Derek totally cut me off when I went into hunting. From the second I got into Lizzy's car and left home… I haven't talked to him."

"Wait, not once?" Sam asks with sheer disbelief. She shakes her head no, her face betraying her. She looks sad about it. "That's insane."

"He thinks I'm insane." She tries to shrug it off.

"Yeah, but… come on! Dean and I have had our differences before. Hell, differences is probably putting it way too lightly. But I would never cut him out of my life."

"What about college?" Lou turns it around, not meaning to start a fight but feeling the need to defend her estranged brother for whatever reason.

"What about it?" Sam wonders, brow wrinkled in confusion.

"When you went to Stanford, didn't you cut your brother off?"

Silent for a second, knowing she might actually have a good point here, Sam's mind looks for a rebuttal. "I cut _dad_ off."

"But if you cut off John, don't you just automatically cut off Dean back then?"

He's busted. "I… never meant to cut off Dean. It just worked out that way kinda. He didn't call me because he was pissed and I…."

"You never tried," Lou finishes his thought. "Don't crap on Derek. He thought I was literally crazy and I wasn't listening to reason. He tried to get me to stay and I told him I couldn't. And, like any rational person would, he kept telling me there were no demons. I told him, like any insane person would, that he was wrong and I was going to hunt them down. Does Derek sound all that terrible now?"

Pausing for a second, Sam concedes. "No. He doesn't."

Lou sighs, leaning back into her plane seat. "Derek and I… we always have had our problems. We clashed. And when our parents died… neither of us dealt well with it. And I disappeared on him when he probably needed me the most." Her face scrunches with the pain of it. "I ditched him. I picked my best friend over him to go off and deal with imaginary monsters. Derek never forgave me. I don't exactly blame him."

Both go silent for a moment, contemplating everything. Sam can feel the guilt radiating off of her. Being an expert with guilt himself, he gets it. And she's been carrying this for too long.

"Lou… you know you made the right choice, right?" Sam tries to make it better. "Leaving to hunt? You've saved lives and helped people…."

"Just not my own flesh and blood," Lou comments, her expression serious as she gets back into her journal. "So, what do you make of this? Think it's related?"

Lou angles the journal so that Sam can easily read it. One look at her face and he knows she needs him to move past this issue for now and focus on the task at hand. He understands. Quickly, Sam reads through the entry. "The demon mentioned Derek burning and knowing what he did."

"Yep."

Approaching this carefully, Sam offers up his theory that he believes should be obvious. "Think it's possible that he made a deal?"

"A crossroads deal?" she asks with shock. "Derek? No way."

"You don't think it's possible?"

"I mean, I guess anything is possible… but even now, after he called me and saw a person with black freakin' eyes, he still is having a hard time believing. There's no way he made a deal."

"No knowingly, at least," Sam offers.

"Meaning?"

"I've heard of demons making deals without fully disclosing the cost on the human end."

"Making a deal and not telling people it'll cost their soul!? Fucked up."

"Very, but they're demons."

"Assholes," Lou mutter with hatred.

"We should ask him about any major life changes or strokes of massive good luck within the last ten years."

"Yeah," Lou nods, praying this isn't it. She then rubs her eyes hard, the day already taxing and exhausting enough.

"Okay," Sam says, stealing the journal and placing it on his own tray in front of him. "You need to catch some sleep."

"Yeah right," Lou scoffs, thinking how impossible that sounds right now.

"You're wrecked. You had a rough enough and late enough night and it isn't going to get much easier the second we arrive in Boston. Take a nap. I'll pick through this for anything helpful."

"You really think I'm going to be able to pass out right now, with Derek having demons on his ass?" she asks him sure she can't."

Sam smiles, and presses the overhead call button. In seconds, a flight attendant is at their side.

"Can I help you?" he asks.

"Will you be around with a beverage cart for this flight?" Sam asks.

"In a few moments, yes."

"Then, can I bribe you to swing by here first and unload as much Jack Daniels as you're allowed to?" Sam questions, grinning in a way he's seen Dean do a million times. He sucks at sucking up very badly but hey, he can always try.

The flight attendant's face lightens up and he grins, leaning on Lou's chair back with an elbow. "Are we starting the party early?"

The way the man looks at Sam, eyes lighting up the way Lou's do when she knows she's getting laid, he sees the game he has to play. Flirt. He sucks at flirting more than he sucks at sucking up. Quickly, hiding his hand with his wedding ring on it under the journal, he smiles back. "No. My sister here, she's a terrible flier. Very nervous. But, she loves her Jack. I figured I'd help her relax. Would you mind helping me out…." Sam peeks at the name tag. "Oh, Jack. What a coincidence."

Glancing at Lou, he sees her eyes wide in amusement as she watches her husband flirt with a man for her benefit. She's grinning like an idiot and making Sam feel even more awkward.

"Well, aren't you the thoughtful one…." Jack waits for a name.

"Sam!" Lou jumps in, ready to throw Sam under this gay bus with all her might. "His name's Sam. My big brother, Sam. He's a really sweet guy, always worrying about me. Never taking time for fun himself."

"Cute _and_ thoughtful," Jack flirts right back, eyes locked on Sam's. "Hm. Well, honey, let me see what I can do for you and your sister." He winks and walks away.

The second he's gone, Sam's rubbing his face and clearing his hair out of his eyes. "Jesus…."

"Oh my god!" Lou turns to him and shout-whispers. "You just flirted with a dude!"

"I know…" Sam cringes, ready to never hear the end of this.

"To help get your wife drunk so she can pass out!"

"I know!"

"This is awesome!" Lou laughs with delight. She then turns around and peeks down the aisle. She can see Jack collecting small nips of Jack Daniels in his hands all while speaking with a goofy grin to the other female flight attendant back there with him. They both giggle and glance to Sam, the female's eyes lighting up. Lou turns back to Sam. "Oh, you're screwed."

"What!?" he panics.

"Jack's got it bad. And eventually I'm going to pass out…."

"Shit."

"I should set up a time for you two to meet in the bathroom."

"No…" Sam strongly rebuts.

"Come on! You totally need to join the Mile-High Club!"

"Lou!"

"Sam! He's cute!"

"I'm not gay!"

"Just a little experimenting never hurt anyone."

"I hate you."

"Can I come watch!?"

"Shut up!"

"I bet it'll be hot!"

"You're fucking twisted…."

"Hey there," Jack interrupts them, suddenly standing by Lou's side.

"Hey… J-Jack," Sam falters, now more nervous than he can ever remember being. Fucking Lou.

"So… I was able to sneak a little something for you," Jack grins, placing four nips of Jack Daniel's on Lou's tray, all while keeping his focus on Sam.

"This the best you could do?" Lou scoffs, knowing this is just enough to get her tipsy these days.

"Thank you, Jack," Sam cuts her off. "That was really kind of you."

"Yes, well… just trying to help out a guest on our airline," Jack winks again and places a folded piece of paper onto Sam's tray. "I don't know where you'll be staying once we land but… I have a layover for the night. You should give me a call if you'll be in the area."

"I… I, uh…." Sam can't for words.

"We'll be in the Boston area. I'll make sure my _brother_ gives you a ring." Lou grins wide with triumph.

"You do that, sweetie," Jack pats her shoulder. "Just press that button again if you… need _anything_." He says it while staring at Sam.

"Oh, we will!" Lou answers with excitement. Jack walks away and she sharply turns to Sam. "I need ice."

"You never drink Jack with ice," Sam rebuts her. "You just down it like a frat boy."

"I feel like ice today. I should call Jack back here…" Lou says playfully with reaching up to hit the call button.

"No!" Sam freaks and grabs her wrist stopping her.

"Dude, I want ice!" she tries again, fighting with him as she grins.

"Lou! I swear!" Sam grabs her other wrist.

"You swear what? That you'll give that man the best tiny bathroom sex of this life?"

"You suck!" Sam tells her, letting her hands go. "And clearly you forgot I'm still mad at you over the Benny thing. Or you wouldn't be busting my ass over putting myself on the line for your benefit."

This shuts Lou up right away. Oh, right. They're mad at each other. Lou cracks open a nip and drains it in one go. She swallows and sigh. "Forgot I was pissed at you for a second there."

"I could tell," Sam mumbles, reading the journal.

Lou watches the wall go right back up when the thought of Benny hits them both. She opens another nip and sighs. "I liked it better when you were gay." She downs the second nip with a new gloomy attitude.

* * *

Ten minutes of opening refrigerator doors and cabinets, and Castiel realizes he's totally lost. "Um… Samuel?"

"Yeah?" the child asks, not looking up from his paper and crayon artwork he is in the middle of creating while sitting at the kitchen table.

"What is it that you eat for dinner?" the angel wonders, very lost. He's never cooked before. Or eaten before. This is not in his wheelhouse.

"I don't know," Sammy answers, unsure of how to explain what he eats from day to day. It's always different and he never makes it himself.

"Could you possibly give me an example?" Castiel keeps trying.

"Example?" Sammy questions, confused.

Castiel sighs. He's not getting anywhere fast. "What did you eat for dinner last night?"

"Nugs and carrots," Sammy tells him, reaching for the blue crayon closest to him to make the sky in his picture.

"Nugs? What's a nug?" the angel now has to ask.

"Chicken nuggets. Daddy calls 'em nugs."

"Right. Because why would Dean Winchester ever just call a spade a spade…." He rolls his eyes. "Well, this could be a problem."

"What problem?" Sammy wonders, putting down his crayon and turning in his chair. He sits with his legs tucked under him and he looks at the angel with confusion.

"Samuel, I am not much of a chef," Castiel explains, walking to sit at the table next to Sammy. He pulls out a chair and plops down. "When I promised to babysit you, I see now that I never actually considered all the moving parts of caring for a human child."

Sammy doesn't answer. The confusion never leaves his face.

"I don't cook." Castiel clarifies it quickly.

"Auntie Louie don't cook, too," Sammy tells him, looking to make his best friend feel better. "She maked mac and cheese and it burned. It was yucky."

Castiel smiles. "I appreciate that. But it doesn't solve our problem. You need dinner."

"I hungry."

"I know."

"I want pizza."

Sitting up tall, Castiel takes the comment for what it is. The easiest solution there is. "Yes. Pizza. Everyone likes pizza… or at least your father has told me that before."

"I like pizza." Sammy nods, eyes wide. He starting to see what all this could mean for him. He mentions pizza, his best friend gets it for him. Hmmm…. "I like ice cream."

"Nice try, little man," Castiel comments with an expression that shows he knows Sammy's game. "But pizza we can do. What do you prefer on your pizza?"

"Cheese!" Sammy lights up.

"And?"

"Cheese!" Sammy repeats, giggling.

"Cheese pizza it is," Castiel grins, pulling out his phone. He opens the browser, finds a local place that delivers, and calls the number. "Hello. I would like pizza, please…. Oh, um, just cheese…. Well, I think three large pizzas should do it."

Sammy grins wide. He's having pizza every night for the next several. When his daddy isn't home and they get pizza, there's always leftovers. And he always gets some of the left overs.

"Very good. Um… Cass, uh, Novak…. Oh, yes… 12 Smith Road. Thank you very much." Castiel ends the call and looks at Sammy. "We eat in a half hour."

"Yeah!" Sammy cheers. "I draw still now?"

"Yes, you can keep drawing for now," he tells Sammy and as the boy gets back to work he glances at the pages. The blob with yellow and black stripes makes him grin wide. He has more of an influence on this boy than he realized, at least until now. With pride, Castiel takes a crayon and a blank page and sets to work. He needs to make some flowers to go with the bee Sammy drew.

* * *

Peeking to her side, Lizzy smiles. Out like a light with a smudge of bar-b-que sauce on his cheek. After the huge pulled pork sandwich, Dean is done for.

Sliding out her phone from her jacket pocket, Lizzy pulls up Benny's number and dials. She takes a second glance at Dean as it rings. He has his face smooshed against his fist which is pressed to the glass passenger window. If anything can put her man down its too much bar-b-que… or some really good sex. Let it never be said that Dean isn't a simple man deep down at the heart of it. She can still picture him as a frat boy chugging beer or a Sunday dad asleep on the couch mid-football game. Or mowing the lawn. He was destined for the normal… until fate shit on his destiny, of course.

She laughs to herself quietly, glad she could have a few minutes to herself to prepare for this case ahead of them. They're at opposing sides. It's rare and it's making her very nervous for how this may play out.

"Well, what a lovely surprise," the warm voice answers, happy as can be.

"Benny, Benny, Benny… you've been a bad monkey," Lizzy tells him. She knows he'll never pick up on the quote from a movie made while he was Purgatory-locked but oh well.

"Wh-why is it I'm a primate?" Benny wonders in a southern drawl.

"You aren't. But you're in deep with me."

"Why's that?"

"There's a drained body in the town I heard you've been skulking around in," Lizzy tells him straight up.

"Skulking?"

"Yep."

"I'm not a skulker, sweetheart. I'm just working," he explains.

"Working…?"

"In a diner. Being a citizen. Regular Joe."

"Wow!" Lizzy cheers. "And you're keeping your nose clean?"

"Yes ma'am," he says. "Still on a regiment of stolen blood and farm animals when I must."

"Then why is there a vamp kill in Carencro?" Lizzy gets serious.

"How you know I'm in Carencro?" Benny gets very suspicious.

"Well… don't get mad." Her stomach churns preemptively.

"How could I get mad at you, Liz?" Benny sweetly responds.

"Dean and Sam put a tail on you," Lizzy lets it go. "They don't trust you and Lou and I being linked to a vampire is freaking them out. They're just trying to protect their family…."

"Say no more," Benny stops her there. "I get it. I'm a monster. Ya'll kill monsters. Us bein' friends is way against the natural order."

"Exactly."

"Do I need to keep an eye out for some hunters lookin' to whack me?"

"No, sir," Lizzy smiles. "I'm handling it."

"And how's that?"

"I'm on my way to you," Lizzy tells him. "I'll be in town by midnight."

"Well, isn't that lovely?" he happily comments.

"With Dean."

"Less lovely, but if it means I can see you then I'll watch my neck."

Lizzy laughs quietly. "We'll find a motel when we get in, get a few hours, and I'll meet up with you?"

"How about dinner shift? I'll text you the address of my diner."

"Right… you sleep all day," Lizzy smiles. "Done deal. I got your back Benny. I know you didn't do this."

"You're right. I didn't. But I'll be glad to help ya'll figure it all out."

"See you tomorrow?"

"With a grin on my face, darlin'."

"Bye, Benny," Lizzy keeps smiling and ends the call, happy to know that Benny will at least still be happy to see her, despite the situation.

Another glance at Dean, still conked out, and Lizzy makes another quick call. Hopefully she'll get an answer.

"Hey," Lou answer the phone, sounding tired and breathless.

"You better be out of breath because you just joined the Mile-High Club." Lizzy grins wide, happy to hear from another someone not mad at her.

"I didn't, but Sam did," Lou says, clearly with a smile.

"Just Sam?"

"And his new boy toy."

"What!?" Lizzy wonders, completely confused.

"Long story. I was running from one terminal to the other for our second leg of the flight. What's going on?"

"I'm driving still. Just leaving Texas. Dean's passed out in the passenger seat."

"Road head?" Lou questions.

"Pork sandwich."

"Ah," Lou understands well. "Nice work."

"It gives me a few minutes alone. No hatred."

"He's still super pissed, huh?"

"Most definitely," Lizzy nods, sighing. She peeks at Dean to make sure he's still asleep. "At least he sticks to his convictions."

"Yeah, ask Benny how noble he thinks that quality is when you get to Louisiana," Lou spitefully comments. "What's your plan?"

"I want to get to Carencro and start poking around. I'm meeting Benny at his place of work at night."

"Uh… excuse me? His place of _what_?"

"You heard me."

"Where's he working?" Lou asks, shocked.

"A diner."

"Solid. What did he say when you asked about the vamp kill?"

"Wasn't him. He's still on bagged blood and cows, but he'd be happy to help us kill what's draining people," Lizzy relays.

"He's a good dude, that Benny."

"Indeed. How are things with you two? As icy as my side?"

"Pretty icy," Lou huffs a breath as she looks over to the line at the gate. Sam's holding their place as she takes the call from her sister. He looks especially constipated. "He's still mad."

"But so are you," Lizzy reminds her, hearing it in her tone.

"Yep. Real fucking quagmire we're in," Lou grumps. "I fucking hate when he gets this pissed off and stubborn. I mean, seriously, who the fuck is more stubborn than Sam Winchester?"

"Dean Winchester," Lizzy answers quickly.

"Tight race."

"Tied for thirds, Louise Becker," Lizzy smirks to herself.

"Shut up."

"We're all stubborn. That's why we all end up in this situation. We're all a mess of stubborn asshole-ness."

"Poor Sammy," Lou laments.

"He has no chance in hell," Lizzy admits.

Lou sighs when she gets a nod from Sam, the line he's in moving forward. "I gotta jet. Flight's boarding."

"Fine," Lizzy complains. "With no one to talk to I'll just have to start back at Led Zeppelin's self-titled."

"Listen to something else!"

"What else is there?" Lizzy jokingly asks, knowing her sister is so music-obsessed and trying her damnedest to get her to listen to different stuff.

"Queens of the Stone Age! Rival Sons! Fink! Horse Fathers!"

"Go catch your plane, Louie," Lizzy laughs.

"Florence and the Machine! Eagles of Death Metal! Black Pistol Fire!"

"Bye, bitch!" Lizzy keeps laughing.

"Black Keys! Lorde…."

Lizzy hangs up, smiling. She hasn't smiled since she left Kansas. A few minutes conversation with her best friend and everything seems better. Thank everything for best friends.

* * *

"What you makin'?" Sammy asks when he leans over from his chair to get a good look at what Castiel has been drawing for the past half hour.

"The infamous Hanging Gardens of Babylon," Castiel answers with a very serious tone, dropping the green crayon in favor of the gray to continue on with the building detailing. "It is said that the great king Nebuchadnezzar built it for his wife. She grew up in Media and was used to lush greenery. He made the gardens to make her feel more at home." Castiel looks over to the young boy and gives him a little insider information. "However, I was there."

"Where?" Sammy questions, always prying and looking for more information. From the start of their friendship, he's found Castiel fascinating. He has stories and he knows so much. Every time Sammy questions him he has actual answers, unlike his mommy and daddy. If he asks why too many times, they stop having answers. Castiel _always_ has the answers.

"Nineveh… which is in modern day Iraq," Castiel keeps speaking. "Humans have not always been consistent with their history keeping. A long time ago, before computers or typewriters… people had no way to truly and consistently record the events of their time. Therefore, word of mouth and second, third… sometimes tenth-hand recounting was the best they could do and they were not accurate."

"Ac-curate?" Sammy asks, not knowing the word.

"Meaning correct. The stories were not correct. They were wrong with details."

"You say big words," Sammy exasperates, shaking his head as he presses a palm to his forehead.

"I apologize for that," Castiel says, not actually meaning it. "The point I'm making is that there were no Hanging Gardens in Babylon. They were in Nineveh. It was actually King Sennacherib that created the massive, quite impressive for the time gardens for his wife." He looks off for a moment, remembering. "He was very much taken by her… but I never could understand why. Insufferable woman. And she had the face of a horse…."

Castiel turns back to Sammy, his eyes wide as he's lost with all the angel explains.

"That wasn't very nice. I take that back. She was a lovely woman," Castiel lies, not wanting to make it okay for Sammy to make fun of others based on looks. He's an example for the boy after all.

"You bein' nice?" Sammy asks, thinking Castiel might be lying about her loveliness. He can tell when Castiel lies.

"I am being _very_ nice," he emphasizes as the doorbell rings. He grins. "Ah. Dinner is served."

"Pizza!" Sammy cheers and follows closely behind the angel as he makes his way to the front door. Standing next to him, Sammy bounces on his heels with excitement as the door opens.

"Hey, man," the teen kid greets and hands over several pizza boxes. "That'll be twenty-seven fifty."

Castiel narrows his eyes and stares at the teen.

"What?" the teen grumpily asks.

"Twenty-seven fifty… what?"

"Uh, dollars?" the pizza delivery boy answers with an attitude. "The currency we use here in the United States of America."

"Oh, yes. You want money," Castiel says. He places the pizza boxes on the decorative table by the front door and reaches into his trench coat pockets. Nothing. "Oh… uh…." He then tries his pants pockets. Followed by his blazer pockets. "I seem to… be out of money."

The kid rolls his eyes and slumps his shoulder. "Dude! You ordered pizza and you can't pay!?"

"I'm sorry… I…." Castiel sputters.

"I'm taking the pies back," he bitches and reaches of the boxes.

"No!" Sammy freaks out and jumps between the pizza boy and the boxes.

"Little kid, move it!" the pizza delivery boy tells him, annoyed as all hell.

"Do not talk to him that way," Castiel warns, taking a step closer.

"Then pay up!"

"Wait!" Sammy shouts and takes off, running up the stairs as fast as tiny short legs can take him. With a head cocked to the side, Castiel stands there, listening to the racket Sammy makes somewhere on the second floor.

"I'm outta here," the teen decides and reaches for the pizza boxes.

Castiel grabs his wrist to stop him.

"Hey!"

"Be patient," he sternly warns the teenager.

Soon, Sammy is pounding his sneakers down the stairs. He rushes up to the pizza boy with a massive grin. He holds out his fist, several dollars stuffed in his hold. "You take this!"

The teenager takes the money, realizing quickly that it's at least three times the amount owed. "Whoa. Nice tip, kid." He smirks at Sammy.

"Thanks!" Sammy grins, now overly proud.

"Ah..." Castiel interjects, pulling half the bills from the wad. He then smiles patronizingly at the pizza boy. "Much better."

"The kid's still a better tipper than you, weirdo," he mutters and walks away for his car.

The moment they're alone, Castiel shuts the door and looks down at Sammy. "Where did you find that money?"

"In mommy's drawer."

"Mommy's drawer?" Castiel keeps prying, not sure they had a right to use the money Sammy knew about.

"Yeah! She has books and money and toys in a drawer in her room!" Sammy cheers and grabs Castiel's hand. He drags him to his parents' room and points to an open drawer on one side of Dean and Lizzy's bed. "I find it there!"

Castiel walks over to the still open drawer and peeks in. He instantly sighs with the carelessness he observes from Lizzy. In the drawer is the usual hunter faire; a bottle of holy water with rosary floating about, Lizzy's journal, an old book from Bobby no doubt, and a silver knife in a leather sheath that Sammy couldn't possibly open at his young age. Next to that is an open, plain white envelope stuffed with cash that has recently been messed with. And then… the truly inappropriate stuff.

Looking over the 'toys', Castiel shakes his head. He may be naïve with many things humans do, specifically sex, but he knows he's looking at two vibrators, a blindfold, handcuffs, a cock ring, and a small, relatively tame paddle. Sure, some of its uses concerning sex is a touch foreign to him, but he knows what Dean and Lizzy use them for. He reaches in and pulls out a black eye mask, looking at it particularly questioningly.

"Zorro!" Sammy shouts loudly. "Daddy say that's mommy's. She dress like Zorro sometimes because he liked it!"

"Who is Zorro?" Castiel wonders, not understanding.

"I don't know," Sammy shrugs, not getting that his parents use the mask for more private things. "I weared it once and daddy laughed really hard."

"Incorrigible," Castiel comments, dropping the mask into the drawer and sliding it shut. "Samuel, I suggest you stay out of that drawer from now on. I feel it's for the best."

"Okay," Sammy shrugs again. "We eat now!?"

"Yes, we eat now," Castiel smiles small.

"Yeah!" Sammy takes off running with pure excitement.

* * *

 


	4. I'm Sorry

 

Deep inhale through his nose, Castiel sighs. "We already read this book two full times."

"Again!" Sammy grins incredibly wide, the smile he has that looks just like his mother's, up at the angel sitting next to him in his racecar bed.

"I don't think you're getting any sleepier, and…" Castiel pauses and looks at the digital clock on the nightstand. "It's a half hour past your bedtime."

"Again, Cassie!" Sammy yells, wide awake. He grabs the book, Where the Wild Things Are, and opens the cover once again to the first page. He takes Castiel's index finger in hand and presses it to the page under the first word. He makes Cass follow along with his finger as he reads, just like Auntie Louie does.

"Samuel, your mother explicitly told me your bedtime was to be eight o'clock on the dot," Castiel tries to get tough.

"But I wanna hear da story again," Sammy pouts, going for the cute angle.

"And your mother also told me you'd do anything you could to stay up late."

"Nah-uh!" Sammy denies.

"Yes-huh," Castiel rebuts childishly despite his serious tone. "You, my small friend, are a con artist."

"What's dat?" Sammy questions, face scrunched with the new term.

"It's an insistent child that doesn't know when to quit," Castiel quickly responds, closing the book and starting to stand. "Bedtime."

"No!" Sammy whines, a little fear in his voice. He grasps onto Castiel's coat sleeve with the tightest grip he has. "One more!"

"Not possible," Castiel shakes his head. "I made a vow to your parents that I would care for you to the very best of my ability. Already, you have me bending rules. Sleep is important to your health and development…."

"Don't go!" Sammy suddenly yells, his grip still on Castiel's trench coat. His expression changes right then, the veil of mischief and enjoyment completely gone. Now it's just worry and fright. "Cassie, stay!"

And bedtime is no longer his main concern. Castiel is baffled. "What's wrong, Samuel?"

"You don't leave!" Sammy keeps panicking, his arms wound around the angel's forearm like a boa constrictor.

"You're scared," Castiel says, putting it together. "Why are you scared?"

"Daddy's gone," Sammy says with pure sadness. "Daddy always tell me nothing bad happen to me if he's here. He not here!"

"Ah," Castiel relaxes and understand everything right away. Since Lizzy disappeared into Purgatory, Dean was Sammy's one solid lifeline. Dean was his everything, his protector, his mother and father, his caregiver, and his entire world. And Castiel knows well that Dean's big line in life is to keep every single person he cares even a small amount about safe and sound. "You think you're unsafe when Dean isn't here."

Sammy nods yes vigorously.

"Samuel, if you think you're safe with your father then I have to tell you, you're even safer with me around," Castiel spills out without thinking.

"You better than daddy?" Sammy asks, honestly trying to understand.

"Better…? Oh! No!" Cass backtracks immediately. "I'm… not  _better_  than your father. Stronger… maybe…."

"You stronger?" Sammy tries to clarify.

"Well, I do have an advantage over him being that I'm an ang…." Castiel stops right there. He almost gave it away. Sammy doesn't know exactly what he is. If he did know that his bestie for life was an actual angel of the Lord then it would be very hard to hide the rest of the supernatural world from him. This is a whole dilemma they have yet to deal with. For now, he's more like the weirdo uncle and that is just fine with him. "Being… that I'm older."

"You older than daddy?" Sammy asks with surprise.

"Yes. Much older."

"Okay… so, you keep me safe?" Sammy questions, his grip on Castiel loosening.

"Absolutely," Castiel answers very quickly and with all the confidence in the world. He leans back against the back of the racecar bed, his arm lifting and hooking around the small child's shoulders. "Samuel, I promise you I will always keep you safe from everything I possibly can. Believe in that."

Sammy looks up at his so kind best friend and smiles. He then leans his head onto Castiel's chest and relaxes finally. Cass can't help but grin with how comfortable the young child is with him, knowing he is fully trusted. The moment is truly sweet and something he's never quite experienced before.

After a moment, Sammy speaks up. "One more time?" he questions, knowing he has his best friend right where he wants him.

Castiel sighs, knowing he shouldn't but…. "Sure. Why not?"

"Yeah!" Sammy cheers and pulls the book into the space between their laps, opening it to the first page.

Castiel sits for another second, watching as Sammy takes his hand, placing his index finger on the first word. The boy is so pure and kind, something he remembers quite clearly from Lizzy when she was this young. It's refreshing and promising in a way that calms him. There have been a few places in his life that have been special to him. The eternal Tuesday afternoon of an Autistic man's heaven. The field of an untouched midwestern United States in the early 1800's. Lizzy's quite colorful and joyful dreams when she was just a child. An Alaskan glacier in its milder months. And this right here, sitting with the offspring that is meant to save the world as he stays up too late and looks for safety and protection from his best friend.

Best friend. It may be unconventional but… Castiel's never really had a best friend before. Yes, Lizzy and Dean and Sam are family. Even Lou these days. They are his kin and he'd die for them. But Samuel? He's beyond just that already.

"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind or another…" Castiel begins for the third time that night and knows deep down that there is no other place on the entire planet… or universe, for that matter… that he'd rather be.

* * *

Hands shaking, Lou keeps staring. That stupid button. That stupid, boring, off white button… it taunts her. "I've never been so scared of an inanimate object in my life before now."

"You've never been scared of a knife?" Sam challenges, trying to lighten up the moment.

"I can shoot anything holding a knife way faster than it can stab me," Lou brushed off. She sighs. "I ring that doorbell and this whole fucking thing begins."

"What whole fucking thing?"

"The whole my-brother-hates-me-and-is-pissed-but-he-needs-my-help-and-I'm-still-super-fucking-pissed-he-didn't-even-come-to-my-funeral-and-cut-Lizzy-off-completely-even-when-she-needed-him-to-be-there-for-her… thing.

"Oh, that small thing," Sam shakes his head and quickly reaches around her. He pressed the button, the sound of buzzing blaring from the intercom speaker.

"Sam!" Lou gets mad and pushes him a little.

"Hey! It was either I do that or we stand here forever…."

"Hello?" a male voice, somewhat nervous, calls out from the speaker.

"D-Derek?" Lou asks, making sure.

"Yeah, Louie. Come on up," Derek answers without any excitement at all and a second buzzing sounds while the front door of the apartment building unlocks.

Lou exhales hard and pulls the door open. Together, Sam and Lou climb one flight to the second-floor door with a six on it. Derek opens the door and for the first time in nearly a decade, the brother and sister come face to face.

Lou opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She promptly shuts it.

"Not even a hi, huh?" Derek rolls his eyes and walks into the apartment, keeping the door open to let the visitors in.

"Nice, I see your shitty attitude is still firmly in place," Lou gripes automatically and enters the apartment, Sam following close by. They both plop their oversized duffle bags on the floor in the middle of the living room.

Derek spins around and stares right at his sister. " _My_  shitty attitude?"

"You did hide from me for ten years and when I finally see you, not even a kind greeting."

"When your sister abandons you after your parents are brutally murdered… yeah, you don't get  _kind_."

Lou nods, having known all along that this was exactly what created the rift between them and that he still puts full, one-hundred percent of the blame on her. Her anger falls away when the guilt hits. "I… Derek, I…." She fails.

"You what, Lou? Didn't mean to hurt me? Never meant to leave me alone at seventeen to fend for my fucking self while you decided to disappear into the world and become completely unreliable?"

The anger in his expression, the balled-up fists by his sides, the way his voice cuts through her heart like a hot knife through butter… it hurts. She wasn't prepared for how much this was going to hurt.

"I didn't mean to…  _ditch_  you," Lou tells him, knowing her words sound so damn hollow.

"Oh no? You didn't mean to leave me alone while I was underage and still in fucking high school!?" Derek yells. "You were my sister! You were old enough to help me, at least for a year until I became legal, but you chose your best friend over me! Like always, you picked Lizzy!"

"That wasn't what it was about!" Lou shouts back but as she does Sam steps between the two of them.

"That's what it was  _always_  about!"

"Alright! I'm ringing the bell!" he shouts over them and holds out a flexed hand to each. "Get back to your corners and focus. We need to deal with the demon problem first. Then you can scream at each other about the past for as long as you want."

"Who the shit is  _this_  guy!?" Derek fires out, offended by being told what to do by the giant stranger in the room.

"This is Sam. He's gonna back me up on this whole… situation," Lou sighs out.

"So, he's your hunting buddy?" Derek asks with disgust. "What happened to Lizzy? She ditch you like you ditched me? Feels pretty shitty, huh?"

"Lizzy is handing another case right. She's in Louisiana." Lou glances at Sam, hoping he can stow the whole vampire-crap right now.

"Nice to know that hunting is still more important than me," Derek bitingly comments, looking away.

Lou just sighs and shakes her head. "She wanted to be here. I told her not to come. I told her to help a good friend while I came here to help my little brother."

Derek keeps his focus elsewhere. He expected Lizzy with his sister. He's mad she couldn't even be there, even if he has no right to be mad.

"Derek… I missed you," Lou tells him, her chin quivering slightly as she blinks away the moisture in her eyes. "A lot. And I never meant for this to work out this way. I had a calling… and I was mad as hell for what happened to our parents. I… couldn't stay. I just couldn't."

"Yeah, well… I had to. And I had no one left," Derek blames once more, not feeling very forgiving. He crosses his arms and stands there, staring at his feet.

The thick, terrible silence is too much and it's not at all productive. Sam claps his hands together once before announcing, "Okay. Emotional baggage later, warding now. Let's get going. Then we can sit down and figure out what our next step is." When no one answers, Sam elbows Lou. "Lou?"

"Yeah, fine," she answers in a sad, miserable tone before grabbing their weapon bag and getting to work.

* * *

"Ugh…" Lizzy walks into the motel room with a sullen attitude, sad to see where she will be sleeping. She left a cozy home that she loves for this? She sighs and turns around to Dean as he walks through the door and she plops her duffle bag onto the stained carpet. "How about we turn around and head back towards that big, giant, comfy bed of ours at home?" She then smiles to show she's joking.

Dean just gives her a glance before dropping his own bag onto the full-sized bed in the room.

"Hey, I'd make it worth your while," Lizzy jokingly winks, trying her best once more with her surly husband. "Maybe we head back, get these stuffy clothes off, roll around in some sheets…."

"Don't do that," Dean says calmly despite his irritation, his eyes actually meeting hers as he pulls his jacket down his arms, tossing it onto the upholstered chair in the corner.

"Do what? Talk about sex?" Lizzy asks, knowing that isn't what he's saying at all.

"We're here because we need to clean up your mess. Don't try and joke your way out."

She's hurt by that. They joke around all the time and she just wanted to get back to that. Lizzy is always the one that can lighten up Dean's mood… except for the few times when she can't. That's when it's bad. That's when next to nothing can crack through his bad mood.

"This isn't my mess," Lizzy defiantly responds, yanking her bag off the floor and slamming it down on the opposite side of the mattress as Dean. She pulls the zipper open with too much force and grabs her toiletry bag, all while glaring at her husband. If he's going to keep being a pain in the ass, she can be a double sized pain in the ass. Now she's just plain angry. "This is some random vamp's mess."

"You don't know that," Dean sing-song rebuts, pulling out a pair of old, worn cotton sweatpants.

"Oh, I know that," she fights right back, pulling out a hair elastic and hastily putting her hair into a knot on top of her head.

"You don't. Stop pretending you don't deep down think that Benny did this," he gets fired up again, pulling his flannel off with force, followed by untying his boot laces.

"I sure as shit  _know_  he didn't do this," she petulantly calls back, turning on the faucet and splashing her face with water. "It was our agreement. I help him get out, he never kills a human again."

"Oh yeah, trust the promise of a monster…."

"Never… unless you know the monster really well."

"And you think vampires don't ever lie?" Dean counters while toeing his boots off and dropping his jeans before stepping out of them. While stepping into his gray sweatpants, he huffs a disgusted sigh.

"No more than you do, dear," she fires back with a bitchy tone as she scrubs her face with face wash from her toiletry bag.

"I lie all the time!" Dean shouts back, outing himself as he pulls his toothbrush out of his bag and walks for the sink.

"Look, I know you don't trust him. And, honestly, you shouldn't. You don't know him like I do," Lizzy relents as she splashes more water on her face to clear the soap off. Once she's done she turns off the faucet and wipes the water from her eyes. Straightening up, she looks at Dean as he holds out a motel towel for her. She takes it and dries her face as she says, "I just wish you could trust me. That's all this boils down to. You not trusting me. And that's the same thing that always ruins everything for us."

Dean shakes his head as he steals the toothpaste from her toiletry bag and puts some on his toothbrush. "The only thing this boils down to is that you're cool with knowing that a free blood-sucker is out there killing people. And I'm not. I can't be cool with sitting by and letting him be free to do whatever and kill whoever he wants."

Lizzy stops right there, facing the mirror and gripping the edge of the sink with both hands. She pushes out a deep breath and meets his eyes in the mirror as he pops his toothbrush into his mouth. "We're just going in circles about this."

While brushing, Dean nods sadly. "Yeah."

"We've said all these things already."

In an ever more somber tone, Dean repeats, "Yeah."

Thinking in the silence, the only sound that of teeth being brushed, Lizzy decides on how to temporarily fix the hostility while she gets out her own toothbrush. "Why don't we just agree to not talk about this until we get to work tomorrow? Talking isn't getting us anywhere and it just ends up getting us all pissed off." She then extends her brush, silently asking for him to put toothpaste on it for her… and to agree to the peace treaty she offers.

Rolling his eyes, Dean grabs the tube while keeping his own brush in his mouth. He squeezes a stripe onto Lizzy's toothbrush and together they silently clean their teeth.

When done, they still silently walk back into the motel room. Dean gets into bed on the side closest to the front door while Lizzy strips down to her underwear and tank top. Without thought, he pulls back the blankets on her side as she crawls in. Settling quickly, they face away from each other and Lizzy clicks off the bedside lamp.

"Goodnight," Lizzy says to him in a small, sad voice. She really is hating being at such odds with him.

"Night," Dean says quickly back.

Silence descends on the room, thick and depressing. They both are uncomfortable. It's been a long time that they've acted like this with each other.

Dean can't take it.

After a good five minutes of both Dean and Lizzy laying there, backs to each other, eyes wide open and hearts heavy, Dean reaches blindly behind him. His hand lands on her hip and he slips it under the edge of her tank, pressing his palm to her warm skin. He closes his eyes, absorbs the feel of her, and tells her low and with sincerity, "I love you."

Lizzy smiles small to herself, dropping her hand on top of his and gripping it tight. "Love you, too."

Simultaneously, they turn to each other and get into the same position they sleep in every night. Dean on his back, Lizzy curled up into his side with his arm around her. They both fall asleep very quickly.

* * *

"Alright," Sam nods, scanning Derek's apartment and liking how secure they seem now. Devil's traps under all possibly entries, salt across all doors and windows, holy water and salt accessible and in several different places, and Ruby's knife is in his hand. They are as safe as they'll get. "I think we're good."

"I'm not getting my security deposit back, am I?" Derek complains as he also looks around.

"We'll reimburse you," Sam half smirks at the petty worry within the situation. "Let's just sit down and talk. Sounds like there's a lot to get through."

"Understatement," Derek mutters and flops down into his well-loved upholstered chair.

Lou rolls her eyes yet bites her tongue. She sits down onto the couch and Sam sits next to her, keeping some distance.

It's a bit awkward through the brief silence but it doesn't last long.

"I'm sorry," Lou blurts out with a shaky voice, already too emotional from everything. Warding the apartment gave her time to think and she's decided she's taking Derek's side after all these years. "You're right. I should have stayed with you. You should have been my priority and instead of help you… I ditched. Derek, I shouldn't have ditched." She wipes her eyes while looking at the floor. She can't face him. "I should have stayed."

Wide eyed, Derek stares at his sister. She's far too stubborn to have just admitted her failure as a sister. But she just did. "I… uh… I'm not sure what to say. I just… never expected that."

"Me neither. But I'm getting better at the whole seeing-things-from-the-other-side thing. If I put myself in your shoes… I'd be super fucking pissed at me. I left you. You weren't even eighteen yet. And… I left with Lizzy. I know you've always been, I don't know, jealous of the bond I have with her."

"It was like you were  _her_  sister and I was just some kid that lived with you sometimes," Derek tells her. "I always felt like you guys were closer than we ever were."

"You and I have nothing in common, Derek."

"Neither do you and Lizzy," Derek rebuts quickly. "You guys were like opposites. But you were still best friends. You were always with her… and I was always left out. I never got to know you. I never got to… be your brother."

As Lou sits there, her heart shatters. She had no idea how bad it was for him. She knew she spent a little too much time with Lizzy growing up but she didn't see how neglectful she was their whole lives.

"I never meant for you to feel that way," Lou says quietly, the guilt crushing. "I… I don't know. I wish I could pull a do over."

Derek sigh. "I mean, it's not like I didn't get it. Lizzy was your age and she was a girl. She was always really fun and I was the pain in the ass little brother. Like… it was kinda normal, in a way. For you to want to hang with her more."

"But it wasn't normal for me to make you feel like you didn't matter," Lou tells him, her voice sincere and devastated. "Just because we didn't always get along didn't mean I didn't care. Or love you. Derek… I haven't heard from you in nearly a fucking decade but you're still my brother. You're still my family. I… I still love you."

Derek doesn't speak, just stares at her. His expression is finally melting just a touch with her honesty and her understanding.

"And when you needed me, when you found me and asked for help?" She presses her hands over her heart. "I'm here. Derek, I came as fast as I could. I'm here to help you. I will always be here when you need me the most."

Thinking it over, Derek sighs and rolls his eyes. "Thanks for that. For coming."

Lou just smiles small. "I just hope you get that I had to leave for good reason. I had a calling. I had to help people and stop other families from going through what we did. And what Lizzy did. It was… it was bigger than me and bigger than us. I had to…."

"Risk your life every day?" Derek asks, not exactly able to see it through her eyes.

"If that's what it took," she nods. "Soldiers do it every day."

"You're not a soldier."

"Not a registered one," Sam steps in there. "But she's fighting for the safety of people she doesn't even know. Still pretty noble."

Looking to her side, Lou just smiles thankfully at her husband. He's always got her back. She really needs that right now. Without a word, she steals his hand from his lap and yanks it into her own, clamping onto it with both her smaller ones.

The move doesn't fool Derek, and neither does that fact that his sister and this hunting partner of hers are both wearing wedding rings, but he saves the questioning for after. "Did you end up… saving people?"

Lou smiles slightly wider. "It's the family business, after all."

Derek's face scrunches. "Huh?"

"Nothing," she huffs a laugh. "I saved a lot. Not all of them. I had to… watch people, kinda… slip through my fingers. But I saved a lot, yeah."

Thinking it over, Derek nods once. "Good. People shouldn't have to experience what we did. Ever."

Lou's entire form relaxes. "I completely agree."

After taking a deep breath, Derek closes his eyes a second before speaking up. "And I'm sorry… I didn't come to your funeral or whatever," Derek says, clearly very confused. "Even though you're not dead."

Lou lets out a half laugh at that. "Forgiven. I'm not dead, anyways. At least, not anymore."

Derek's face screws up at that, not getting it. "Huh!?"

"Long story. And I promise to tell you everything, and I mean  _everything_ , as soon as we find what's after you. When I kill that demon dead… then we can have one hell of a family reunion and meeting. Okay?"

Derek shrugs. "Okay with me. I mean, I feel like I'm about to find out way more than I ever wanted about… I guess, the world. And you. But okay."

* * *

Daylight is starting to break, he can see the pinks and oranges just starting to light up the sky outside of Sammy's bedroom window, but still… the angel doesn't move.

The entire night, Castiel stayed put. He didn't have it in him to move. What if his leaving Sammy to sleep alone woke the boy up? Or what if he had a nightmare when Castiel wasn't near him to pull him out of it angelically? Or what if something came for him, something evil, and he wasn't there to smite the ever-living-crap out of it? Too many things can go wrong, so Castiel stayed.

The little boy moved a lot in his sleep, ending up on his side with his face squished against Castiel's thigh. The angel has his hand in the mop of dark hair that's sticking up every which way with a good night's sleep. With his cheek pressed and hair a mess… the little boy looks so sweet. He looks as innocent as he is.

And through the night, Castiel ran through all the scenarios. All the things that could go wrong for Samuel. He could become God's vessel. He could be hunted down for being God's vessel by any number of demonic things. Crowley could decide he wants him. A monster could decide it wants him. Hell, he could fall in the bathtub or choke on a price of chicken nugget he didn't chew since he inhales food not unlike his father. Or he could get into a car accident.

Anything could happen. Anything could come and take Samuel away from his family, away from his guardian angel, and the thought is completely terrifying.

Castiel sighs, looking down on the little miracle, and says to himself, "If this is how your parents feel everyday of their lives… I don't understand how they live every day."

He truly doesn't. He's starting to see through a parent's eyes… and it's both spectacular and so wonderful. But it's also awful in its own ways.

Holding the boy closer, Castiel sits and waits for another day to begin. He still has no plans to leave Samuel alone.


	5. Too Much Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm once again sorry for the massive wait for this chapter. I'm beginning to realize this may just be the way it is for me from here on out. It's a shame. I got you all used to weekly updates and now monthly would be considered a success. Please hang tight. I've decided to move the overall story line forward a lot sooner than I had wanted to just in case life doesn't allow me to finish this series the way I had always planned to now that life is super crazy. This is an intensely revealing chapter, something I've had in my mind for a VERY long time now. Finally!
> 
> Last chapter had some pretty low traffic and minimal reviews. That's what I get for posting chapters on Friday, right? :) Please go back and read that first if you missed it. Thanks, everyone!

 

* * *

"So… I'm just gonna… go to work?"

Derek stands in front of Sam and Lou the next morning. They came up with a plan before they all caught some sleep. Now, dressed in his suit like any other work day, Derek is second thinking everything.

"Yes," Lou nods, taking out a sawed-off shot gun from her stash of weapons she and Sam raided before arriving. She smiles at her brother while single-handedly cocking the impressive vintage firearm. "And we have you're back."

"Louie, Jesus," Derek shakes his head as he looks at her. She's nothing like he remembers. Yes, she's always been a bit biting and she was always tough. But this? This is a whole new level of tough. And a gun in her hand? Their hippy mother would be so disappointed in her. "You can't just run around the streets of Boston with a fucking sawed-off in your hand!"

"I know that," Lou fights back, her voice reverting to something petulant while in her brother's presence. "I'm a fucking professional. Don't worry about me."

"I'm not. I'm worried about  _me_." Derek walks for the door of his apartment, grabbing his keys from the expensive bowl by the front door and picks up his briefcase. "You get arrested for being a dumbass in the days of terror alerts, then my ass isn't covered. I'm screwed."

"Derek, we've handled much worse than this," Sam assures, tucking his own handgun behind him and into the waist of his jeans. "I promise you, by tonight, if this thing is tailing you… we'll get answers."

"And then send its ass right back to Hell," Lou smiles slightly, looking forward to giving some justice to the thing that is after her little brother.

Derek sighs. "This is insane."

Lou's face falls, sorry for him. "I know."

"What just happened to my life?" he closes his eyes and hangs his head.

Walking to him cautiously, their relationship better but nowhere near healed, Lou places a hand on her brother's shoulder. "I told you, I'm never letting you down again. Ever. Sam and I… we got this. Please try and trust me."

Derek looks into Lou's eyes and sighs heavily once more. "Yeah. For whatever reason… I still do."

Lou smiles at that. "Alright then. Shall we head to work?"

Derek rolls his eyes and opens the door to his apartment, leading the way into Boston for the average workday… despite it feeling like anything but.

* * *

Sitting in the Impala, Metallica tape quietly playing in the tape deck, Dean drums his hands on the wheel. Eyes glued to the front door of the hospital as he waits for Lizzy, his insides are clawing at him. He needs to move, get to work, kill something. He's been angry for a day of traveling straight and he needs to see some action.

Damn, would he love to chop off a vamp head.

But, he has to wait. He has to wait for Lizzy to get done pretending she's Agent Nicks of the FBI here in Carencro to check out the mysterious death of a young woman by the bayou. He has to wait until he can meet with Martin at his motel room to see what he's seen. He has to wait for Lizzy to meet with Benny tonight so the vampire can plead his case.

Dean's never been good at waiting. He  _hates_  waiting.

After a good hour, Lizzy finally appears coming out of the hospital's automatic doors. On any other day, he'd already be salivating just watching her walk her way across the asphalt in her shiny black, probably too-high heels, her form fitting pencil skirt, matching blazer over crisp white shirt, hair piled in a neat bun on her head, and oh, the black rimmed glasses… but not today. He needs to sort this whole thing out. He can't focus on her looks right now, not within the situation.

The passenger door squeals open and Lizzy slides into the seat, pulling the door shut behind her. "Well, that was exactly what I expected it to be."

"Meaning?" Dean asks, holding out his hand for her to give over the manila folder she's gripping.

"It's a straight up vamp kill," she shrugs. "Nothing new. Ripped open throat, blood drained… it's classic. And it's what we assumed we'd find."

Dean nods, checking out the profile of the dead woman and looking over the pictures from the morgue. It is classic. "Guess we go meet Martin in a couple hours."

"Yes. Let's," Lizzy bitingly answers, pulling her seatbelt on.

"And try to leave the attitude in the car, huh?" Dean requests as he turns the engine over. "He did us a favor."

"He did  _you_  a favor," Lizzy harshly corrects, voice too emotionless.

"He kept an eye on a dangerous monster for all of us… as hunters," Dean calmly explains. "And… he's been inside for a long time. He's not really an outdoor cat anymore so, you know, go easy on him."

Reflecting on his words a moment, she gets confused. "What does that mean? He's been an indoor cat?" Lizzy asks, getting a bad feeling.

"It means… Martin's been out of the life for a bit."

"What's a bit?"

"A couple… decades…."

"You sent a  _retiree_  to watch Benny?" Lizzy sighs. "Why did he quit?"

"Got sick of the life. Got to be too much." Dean keeps it vague and hopes she'll beg off.

"It's gets to be too much for all of us," Lizzy laughs a little at the absurd thought. "He's a quitter then?"

"No," Dean denies. "He… needed time off. To process. Work through somethings he went through. He had been a hunter for so long, before dad even. It all kind of… piled up over time."

Lizzy sharply turns her head to look at Dean's profile while he drives. "Did you send a hunter who lost his shit to spy on my friend!?"

Fucking Lizzy, always figuring him out all too easily. "He didn't lose his shit…."

"You're lying!" she immediately accuses with wide eyes, her finger pointed right at him. "He went fucking AWOL!"

"He didn't disappear. He just kinda… needed help. From some professionals."

"Was he committed?"

Dean doesn't speak, just clenches his jaw. Here it comes….

"You fucking asshole!" Lizzy shouts and punches Dean in the arm, making him swerve a bit.

"Easy! Jesus!" Dean bitches right back. "I'm driving!"

"You sent a legit insane hunter to watch Benny!" Lizzy spells out his irresponsibility. "Benny is my friend!"

"You're not friends with a vampire…."

"Yes, I fucking am! Get fucking past it!" Lizzy loses all form of composure and reserve. "I have been trying so hard to get you to see things my way, to have you understand what I went through and how Benny saved my fucking life! My life! I'm here because of him! And you won't listen to me! You never fucking listen to me!"

"I listen to you," Dean whines right back. He does. He always hears her talking. And talking. And talking. Lizzy's always been a talker.

"You don't  _hear_  me," Lizzy fires right back. "In one ear and right out the goddamn other. Well, Dean… you better hear me now." She leans over the front bench seat and puts her mouth right to his ear. "Benny's my fucking friend!"

"Ow! Fuck!" Dean complains, holding a hand over his ear.

"I'm not backing down. I'm not killing my friend. He didn't do this," Lizzy tells him with certainty. She then leans back into her seat, arms folded over her chest, face filled with fury. "Drop me off at the motel room."

Dean glances at her before saying, "We were gonna get food."

"Not hungry. Drop me off," Lizzy grits her teeth.

Dean knows now isn't the time. Instead, the rest of the silent drive to the motel is tense but he doesn't speak. He knows better.

When he pulls up in front of the room door, Lizzy shoves her passenger car door open and, once out, slams it shut with such force that the old tank of a car shakes. When he watches the fury with which she opens and also slams the motel door, Dean knows this is really, really bad.

"Fucking vampires," Dean mutters to himself and pulls out of the lot. She's not the only one that needs a moment to cool off.

* * *

"You push me higher, Cassie!" Sammy delights as he swings through the air. He was too excited when Castiel finally relinquished and took him to the park just a couple miles from their house. And when they arrived, his favorite swing was available. This day is awesome so far!

"You're going high enough, Samuel," Castiel assures as he stands behind the boy, pushing now and then and being careful not to use too much strength. From the moment they arrived, he's been on high alert. He's paranoid at best. This isn't his child. This is Dean and Elizabeth's child. He's the future of the world… well, possibly. Castiel has a lot on his shoulders right now. And being in the public eye instead of inside a warded and protected house, without any proficient hunters to back him up at that, has him on edge.

"Daddy always push me higher!" Sammy complains but with a smile still on his face.

"I am not your father," Castiel reminds. "When he returns, then he can push as high as he likes. This is good for now."

"You party pooper, Cassie!" Sammy name calls but settles for the less thrilling ride that his best friend provides.

"Party pooper?" Castiel questions the clearly rude label.

"Yeah."

"What's a party pooper?" Castiel wonders, eyes always scanning the park for any sign of danger.

"You poop on da' party," Sammy answers as if it were already obvious.

The angel sighs. "I feel this is a saying your father taught you that is also meant as an insult… aimed at me in this case."

"Huh?" Sammy questions, once again confused.

"Nothing. I'm just being a party pooper," Castiel shuts the conversation down where it is.

"I see Megan!" Sammy yells aloud, pointing to a little girl and her mother walking towards the playground from the small parking lot.

"Who's Megan?" Castiel inquires, already suspicious.

"She my friend! I want down!" Sammy gets all too excited, twisting in his toddler swing as he becomes instantly desperate to get off of it.

"I don't know," Castiel airs his concerns. "How well do you know this Megan?"

"She go to my school! I play with her!" Sammy keeps his voice boisterous. "I wanna play with her!"

"She's from your preschool?" Castiel wants to clarify, knowing Sammy's been put into a preschool twice a week to get him used to interacting with other humans his age. Since his birth, Sammy's been around adults only. He needed young companionship and Castiel thought, though the idea was a bit reckless as no one could be around to protect Sammy while at school, it was still a good idea.

"Yeah! I get down!" Sammy keeps trying.

"Well… alright," Castiel agrees tentatively as he grabs the swing and stops its momentum. Once he lifts Sammy out of the swing, he pauses while he still has the boy in his hold. With hands under Sammy's armpits, he holds him out in front of him until they are staring each other down. "Samuel, if you play with Megan, you are to not be out of my line of sight."

"You what?" Sammy asks, face screwed up in confusion.

"I must always be able to see where you are. You agree?"

"Yes!" Sammy answers. Whatever it takes to get down and play with his friend.

"Then you can play with Megan," Castiel relents and places him on his feet. Sammy takes off like a shot, yelling Megan's name and immediately running around with her once they see each other.

With butterflies in his stomach, Castiel sits down on a park bench, his eyes keen on his charge. As Sammy climbs the playground, Megan following him, they head for the slide. Sammy's face is lit up with excitement. He's yelling, laughing, sharing his time with another child his own age… and Castiel can't help but smile genuinely at what he sees. Born of the most feared and involved hunters, given a possible fate that is more frightening than anything anyone has seen before, Samuel the Second Coming is a happy, normal, average child.

To say Castiel is proud of Dean and Elizabeth would be a grave understatement.

"You must be Dean."

When Castiel looks up to the newcomer standing at his left, he sees a young woman smiling at him. Squinting in the sunlight, he can make out her long dark hair and her bright blue eyes as she waits for an answer.

"Uh… no, sorry. My name is not Dean," Castiel tells her, slightly nervous to be speaking to someone he doesn't know. He's rusty at best when it comes to non-angels and non-Winchesters.

"Oh…. Alright. I might be confused then," she stutters slightly as she looks at the angel with curiosity. "Weren't you the one with Sammy Winchester just now?"

"Yes."

The woman just stares at him for a beat, waiting for an explanation. Quickly she realizes she isn't getting one.

"But you're not Dean? His dad?"

"No, I am not his dad," Castiel sees now he must explain himself, his eyes sliding to Sammy every couple of second. "I am… his uncle." Close enough, right?

"Oh!" the dark-haired woman smiles honestly now as she sits down next to him, leaving a solid couple feet between them on the bench. She drops a large tote bag on the ground beside her and turns back to Castiel. "I got so confused for a second there. The preschool teacher, Miss Jessica, told me that my daughter Megan has been glued to a little boy named Sammy. Seems they've become besties."

"Yes, well, Samuel… Sammy just made it very clear that he enjoys Megan's company as well."

"I think you're right," the woman laughs, glancing at the two children laughing and running around. She grins at the display before looking at Castiel, her hand held out in greeting. "Kim."

Castiel quickly grasps her hand and shakes it. "Cass."

"Are you Dean's brother?" Kim wonders as they finish shaking hands.

"Oh… yes," Castiel lies, unsure what else to say.

"Hm, must run in the family," she says, her smile soft and warm as she looks him over just a bit.

Castiel wrinkles his brow. "What must?"

Kim laughs once to herself, her cheeks heating up. "Well, I haven't met him yet, but the other moms from the preschool have been talking about Sammy's dad a lot."

"Why would that be?" Castiel gets further concerned. Why would there be women talking about Dean?

"Uh… I have been told… that he's quite handsome." Kim's cheeks come to a full rosy glow with the admission.

Castiel nods, understanding. "Yes, Dean seems to have a way with women. His wife is quite taken with him still, though if I were her I think Dean would have driven me insane by now."

Kim laughs at what she thinks is Castiel's jesting answer. "That's because you're his brother. Brothers always annoy each other."

"Yes, I believe you're right about that," he nods, knowing the interactions between Dean and Sam aren't always easy and annoyance free.

There's a silence that grows between them as they both watch the children play for a moment. Kim speaks up first. "Are you babysitting today?"

"Yes," Castiel answers quickly. "I am in charge of Samuel for a few days. Sammy."

"You call him by his full name?"

"I… have much respect for his first name." He doesn't know how else to explain it. He's just always called the boy Samuel. Just like he's always called Lizzy Elizabeth.

"Okay," she nods in a friendly manner before leaning her elbow into the bench back. She angles towards Castiel and grins. "But I do think it must run in the family. Being very handsome."

Castiel sits up a little taller, eyes darting over to her with the clear compliment.

"Your dad must have been quite the looker," she jokes in a somehow comfortable way.

Still, Castiel isn't exactly comfortable. "Oh, um… well…."

"I'm sorry," Kim presses a hand over her eyes. "I'm… I've embarrassed you. That's not what I was going for."

"Oh… no…." Right away, Castiel feels bad for her feeling so embarrassed. "My father…." He doesn't know how to proceed so he tries a new tactic, recalling who his father is if Dean is his brother for this conversation. "John was a handsome man, yes. Maybe not the most loving but… handsome." Castiel nods. Inside he knows he's not making this conversation easy. He's so damn rusty.

"Well, I may never have gotten to meet Dean but… maybe those moms at preschool would be talking about a different guy if  _you_  ever decided to pick Sammy up from school."

Castiel's eyes grow wide for a moment, the lightbulb finally lighting up. He's being hit on. She's interested in him. Okay, now he's just plain out of his element. "That's… very kind of you to say. Thank you." He nods awkwardly before looking back to Sammy as he tries to push Megan on the swings and struggling to do so with his height.

"You're shy. I'm sorry," Kim laughs slightly. "I've been told I can be too bold for some people's comfort level. I mean, I call it just being honest but, oh well."

When Castiel looks at her again, he can see her appeal. She's a very good-looking woman, probably used to having men respond positively to her. And he's probably not responding in the way he should be given normal human conventions. He needs to try harder.

Trying to smile in an appealing way, much like he's seen Dean do before (or at least he hopes it's coming off like that), Castiel turns his body to face Kim and leans slickly on the back of the bench. "Oh, I wouldn't call you too bold." Even in his own ears, it sounds unnatural.

"No?" Kim grins at his turn of attitude.

"No. I like bold."

"That's good," she says while placing her hand lightly on his arm as it's draped across the seat back.

"You know, your facial configuration is very appealing," Castiel keeps trying, knowing complimenting a woman is the way to go if Dean has taught him anything.

"My  _facial configuration_?" Kim laughs a little at his wording.

"Yes. It's symmetrical and very pleasing to the eye. Science has proven that a symmetrical face is not only considered highly beautiful but it's one that causes others to instantly trust another. You seem trust worthy. Some might say I also had a very symmetrical face," Castiel keeps trying, the slick grin starting to feel as odd as it probably looks after the very strange rant he let out with his nerves. By the reaction he gets from Kim, her face falling and her body language retreating, he knows he's right. "Not to say I wouldn't be trustworthy. I am a very honorable ang… person."

"Right…." Kim starts to back off, removing her hand from his arm and sliding back an inch or two.

Castiel starts to fumble. "I… I never meant… to make you uncomfortable or…."

"It's fine," Kim coldly responds.

"Mommy!" they hear a little girl yell and both look to see Megan and Sammy running towards them.

"Hey, honey," Kim's voice returns to something light and happy. "What's going on?"

"Sammy told me his best friend stinged him in the butt!" Meghan tells her mom with a big laugh.

Sammy laughs right along. "He did!"

"I thought you were his best friend, Meggie?" Kim smiles, confused.

"No! I'm his  _girl_  best friend," Meghan stipulates. "Sammy's boy best friend stinged him in the butt!"

"Who's his boy best friend?" Kim asks.

"Cassie!" Meghan shouts, pointing at Castiel.

"You stinged me in the butt, remember?" Sammy smiles as he climbs up into Castiel's lap. "Last night! In my room when I get nakie for bath time!"

Kim's eyes widen, unsure of what to make of all this.

"Yes, I remember." Castiel just nods, recalling their talk about bees and how they read a book about bees that afternoon. Later that night, Sammy prepared for his bath and Castiel pinched Sammy on the butt cheek after talking about the bee that stung his mother in the same place.

"My butt still hurts!" Sammy yells out with a giggly voice, gabbing both of his own cheeks in his hands.

"Well, I think I wasn't exactly easy on you," Castiel huffs a small laugh, remembering pinching Sammy maybe a little too hard. "My apologies. Next time I sting you, I will go easier."

"Okay!" Sammy laughs and Meghan laughs with him.

It's the that Castiel notices the horror on Kim's face.

"Kim?" Castiel asks, looking for a reason for her dislike.

"I… I'm not sure…." She looks between the little boy and his uncle. The impression she's getting is not a good one. At all. "Meghan, let's go."

"What!?" Meghan asks, confused for the sudden change.

"We're leaving right now." Kim picks up her bag and grabs for Meghan's hand.

"No! I wanna play more!" Meghan tries to pull away but Kim books it to the car.

As Kim drags Meghan away, Castiel is very confused. He knew he wasn't exactly smooth in their interaction, and he knows he probably didn't pick up on cues correctly now and then, but overall, he didn't think their conversation warranted such horror.

"You aren't hanging around with Sammy anymore," he catches Kim saying to her daughter. When asked why, Kim simply explains, "Because I don't think his uncle is a very appropriate man."

Not a good man? Why would Kim think that? They were simply talking. And Sammy shared a cute moment they had last night together…. Stinging in the butt. Could that be taken as a euphemism?

"Kim! No!" Castiel instantly yells when he starts to get it. He stands up. "It's not what you think! It was innocent and highly appropriate! It wasn't… Kim!"

Too late. She's gone.

"Why they leave us?" Sammy asks as Kim pulls her SUV out of the parking lot of the playground.

"Because I am a massive creep, Samuel," Castiel simply answers, standing up and placing Sammy on his feet. He then reaches for the boy's hand. "I fear them leaving is my fault." His shoulder drops in defeat, knowing he will never understand human interaction fully. But at least he understands Sammy. "Ice dream on the way to apologize?"

"Okay!" Sammy cheerfully answers and lets Cassie lead the way. "You creep, Cassie?"

He sighs. "Apparently so…."

* * *

After three hours, and three whiskey shots chased with three beers, Dean pulls into the motel parking lot and parks in front of their room door. He sighs as he turns off the engine.

The bartender from the dive he holed up in was good. At one point, he told her she should seriously go back to school and get her phycology degree. She smiled and informed him that she was. He then told her she made the right choice and then complained about being thraped by her. At least he can make  _someone_  smile today.

All the towns he's been through, all the bartenders he's vented to… she was among the best. Somehow, after minimal alcohol consumption considering how pissed he was when he marched into that hole in the wall, Jackie the Bartender cracked his wall and got him to spill. He gave an edited, vamp-free version, of course, but still, he gave an honest recounting.

The bartender called him jealous. He told her he wasn't jealous because Lizzy is not the kind to sneak around and cheat. The bartender then called him paranoid and he denied that too. The bartender told him that he must have trust issues. He had a very hard time denying that, especially after what it was that set Lizzy off the most during this specific case.

And now, after shockingly talking out his issues, Dean sees that he might actually be wrong. In the past, he would let his stubborn ass ride out the tension until it just disappeared or blew up between them later. These days, he knows he can't do that. He almost lost her once because things got bad and they didn't handle it right. He's never doing that again.

Sucking up his pride, Dean grabs the drugstore bag from the passenger seat and gets out. He walks to the door, unlocks it, and steps in with a deep breath.

He finds Lizzy sitting at the table, her back to him as she types away on her laptop. She barely moves when he enters, just keeps the tension in her shoulders and ignores his presence.

Here goes nothing.

Dean closes the door and walks for her. Silently, he drops the bag onto the table next to her computer and waits.

With a glance at the bag, Lizzy doesn't look up at him. "What's that?"

Dean points at it. "That is me eating a whole freakin' heap of crows."

Turning her face up to him, Lizzy just gives a confused face.

"I was wrong," Dean tells her quickly before the words refuse to come out, his arms out to his sides. "I know I was wrong and I didn't handle any of this right and I suck. Okay?"

Blankly, Lizzy just continues to stare at him. She's not sure how to answer that. His words were great, things he never says, but his tone was angry and less forgiving than his words. What the fuck is happening here?

"Great," Dean complains when she doesn't react at all and he plops down on the end of the bed. He presses his hands over his face and rubs, stressed out by his opening up. When he looks back at her, his expression is lost. "I was wrong."

"I know," Lizzy nods.

"And I admitted it."

"I appreciate that," Lizzy tells him.

When nothing comes from his honesty, Dean just shrugs and looks at her, waiting for answers.

Lizzy stands up and grabs her chair. She places it in front of Dean and sits across from him. She reaches over and grabs his hands, staring right into his eyes. "I know it took a lot for you to admit you're wrong. And, like I said, I appreciate that. It was kinda refreshing, actually."

"But?" Dean wonders, really wanting to understand where this is going.

"We have a real problem here. Dean, I know you love me. But I don't think you listen to me. And I don't think you can fully trust me."

"Of course, I listen to you!" Dean instantly refutes. "And I trust you more than anyone. Maybe even Sam."

"With our son, yes. You totally trust me. And with covering your ass on a hunt, sure. Hell, you even trust me to never tell anyone about the Zorro mask and the anime porn and all the other super weirdo sexual quirks you've picked up over the years."

Dean smirks at that. He really can throw almost anything at her when it comes to sex.

"But when it comes to something like this… you can't find it in you to trust me."

"Yes, I can," Dean sincerely tells her.

"No, you can't."

"I'll prove it," Dean promises her. "I want to prove it to you. L, you got this whole thing backwards. I meant it when I said that I trust you. I just don't trust vampires. I've been trained to not trust vampires. That shit is in my blood and it's damn near impossible to go against that."

"I know," Lizzy nods. John is still, and always will be, a massive influence in Dean's life. That can't be changed.

"So, you gotta be patient with me. I'm trying here, even if it doesn't look like it. I trust you. You know I do. Deep down, you know I do. I just… I can't lose you. Sammy can't lose you. Since he was born, I…." Dean looks away from her. He gathers himself after pushing aside the fear and crushing sorrow that gets dragged up when he remembers how bad it was thinking she had died. He can never experience that again. Staring at their clasped hands, Dean admits, "We can't lose you. And this… it freaks the fuck out."

He misses the small, loving smile that passes over her face at that. He loves her so much. "You're not gonna lose me because I made a new friend with fangs."

Dean's brow wrinkles as he grips her hands even tighter.

"Leaving you and Sammy was the scariest thing I ever did. And you need to believe that I would never,  _never_  do anything to risk my time you my two men." She reaches out and pushes up his chin to make him look at her. "Benny is good. He has fangs but he's good. We are going to clear all this up, then we are going to return home. We're going to be fine. Do you hear me?"

Dean nods yes.

"No, I mean… do you  _really_  hear me. That I wouldn't risk my life again. That I wouldn't leave you two again."

"Yeah," Dean nods again, actually believing it for the first time.

"So… make a deal with me. You re-fucking-lax, throw a little faith in me into the mix, and work with me on this, and I'll be more understanding about your inability to fully trust a vamp and I'll promise not to die."

"No one can promise that," Dean denies.

"Watch me," Lizzy smirks at him. "Deal or what?"

He gives it a moment to just look at her and see her again. He's been blinded by fear and anger. Damn it, she's beautiful. "Deal."

Lizzy smiles and leans forward, pressing a kiss to his lips. She then drops his hands, stands up, and smiles. "So, what'd ya buy me?" she playfully asks and skips to the table.

"Oh, uh… you know, the crap you like…."

"Nice!" Lizzy cheers when she looks into the plastic bag. Pulling items out one at a time, she continues to grin. "Snickers. Ooh, good beer for once. Smartfood… Tampons?"

"Proving my love through embarrassing purchases." Dean smiles with a grimace behind it.

"Dude… I don't get periods anymore. Hysterectomy when Sammy was violently born? Remember?" she reminds him.

Dean smiles, it dawning on him. "Oh, yeah. Guess we haven't really been pausing for the monthly cause in a long time, huh?"

"Being that dense, you're lucky you're cute," she smiles at him. She keeps rifling through the bag of little peace offerings. "My favorite lip gloss…. The good pens that have gel ink and glide… you know me so well." She melts a little and gives him a lovey look.

Dean simply cocks an eyebrow and shrugs, playing it off while inside he's thanking his lucky stars that she's no longer mad at him. He couldn't take the stress and friction between them.

"Okay… chocolate sauce?" Lizzy asks, holding up the bottle of syrup questioningly. "Why?"

Dean just smirks at her slickly.

* * *

"Ugh! So boring!" Lou complains loudly, sitting back in her passenger seat. She kicks at the dash once, frustrated.

"Hey! Easy," Sam calls her out on her childish behavior.

"It's a shitty rental," Lou reminds him, the hybrid a total let down when they picked it up at the rental place.

"Yeah, a shitty rental that isn't the cause of your boredom."

"Whatever," Lou rolls her eyes before once more checking the door of the office building in downtown Boston. They've fed the meter three times. Nothing has been happening. No suspicious people or movements. "Stakeouts are the worst."

"No, you're just the most impatient person I've ever met," Sam huffs a laugh at her expense, eyes always on the doors.

"I just want this over with," Lou spills, knowing whenever she gets this petty and childish it's because she's frustrated and scared.

"And we'll end it all, you just have to be patient."

Sam, always the level headed one of the two, is once again right. "I'm pissed."

"I can tell," Sam once more smiles.

"Sorry I'm being so pissy."

"I accept," Sam smirks, glancing at her before once more training his eyes on the door they know Derek will exit from. It gets silent for a few moments before he adds, "Have I told you recently how much I love the new Lou?"

"Yeah… like every freakin' day," she grins a little, feeling pride in herself for getting better and better. She's able to see her anger and shitty attitude coming a mile away and she can stop it. She can even apologize for it if she isn't able to stop it.

"Hey. There he is," Sam points out the windshield.

"Oh, this fucker better be tailing him," Lou gets excited, pulling out an angel blade and gripping tightly as she sits up tall.

They watch closely to Derek as he leaves his work building and walks his usual route down the street to grab lunch from his favorite spot. Derek looks around nervously now and then but he sticks to the plan. Business as usual.

"Look," Sam nods to a person that had been sitting on a bench until Derek passed him. Immediately, the man glances around quickly before falling into step behind Derek. His eyes are trained on Derek and it gives him away.

"Shady shit. Let's go," Lou says while her heart skips a beat with adrenaline. This fucker that messed with her little brother is going down.

Walking with a hustle in their step, Sam and Lou catch up quickly enough. They stay a good 10 to 15 feet behind the man that appears to be following Derek, the man also in a tailored suit and crisp white shirt. They both look like any other business men in the Financial District of Boston on a weekday.

Lou and Sam stick out like sore thumbs with their worn, second hand looking clothing and canvas army duffle bags over their shoulders.

"The alley is coming up here," Lou nods ahead and soon after, Derek turns down the narrow way. Her brother and she know the city well. They didn't live far south of Boston growing up and they used to come into the city all the time. Derek's been working there for years.

The business man they suspected turns down the alley also, confirming their worried.

"Game on, bitch," Lou smirks something slightly dark, ready for some action. Being the researcher and home base for other hunters, as she's become more-or-less the new Bobby, has kept her off cases for a long time now. She was getting itchy. Now to give that itch a good scratch.

Derek reaches the end of the alley, there being no exit out the other side. Surrounded by old brick buildings, he swallows hard when he can hear wingtips walking up to him from behind, the sound echoing all the walls. His hands are sweaty and shaky with fear, regretting this idea of his sister's completely in the moment.

"Derek!" A cheerful male voice calls out, sounding like an old friend instead of the evil thing Derek suspects.

He turns around to find an unfamiliar face looking at him.

Play along. He can do this. "Do I know you?"

"No. But you knew someone important to me."

"Oh?" Derek asks, hoping the shaking in his voice isn't obvious.

"Oh. Yes. You knew my mother." He blinks and his eyes turn black.

Derek's forehead wrinkles with confusion as the fear ramps up. Black eyes. Just like Lou told him about after the night their parents were killed. Just like he saw the other day and convinced himself that he hadn't. He should have listened.

Derek looks down to the ground and realizes he needs the demon to step a little closer. Just one step. "I… don't think…."

"My mother was smart," the demon lets him know. "My mother was brilliant. And she knew all about your family and the problems they were destined to cause. She was the only one that was willing to do the dirty work necessary to stop you people."

Derek's heart plummets to the ground. "My family? What are you talking about?"

The demon smiles and steps forward that one more step. "Your sisters."

" _Sisters_!?" Derek shakes his head. "I don't have sisters. I have  _a_  sister."

The horrible sneer that appears on the demon's face makes his blood cold in his veins. "You don't know."

"Don't know what!?"

"About so much of your very own life." The demon laughs at his own taunting words. "You know nothing about Elizabeth… the Great Elizabeth!" the demon sings out her name in mockery. "Your half-sister Elizabeth. The mother of the Second Coming… Elizabeth."

Derek just stands there, completely lost. He has no freaking clue what the demon is talking about. "Elizabeth… you mean Lizzy?"

"Bingo, kiddo," the demon smiles. "Sharp as a tack, this one."

"Lizzy's not my sister," Derek rebuts. "She's my sister's weirdo best friend."

"That was fathered by your cheating father."

Derek pauses, heart beating too fast. Shit. His father was a whore. But Lizzy's mom wasn't. Could they have…?

"And then there's Louise," the demon moves right on.

Face falling into something completely angry, Derek fires out, "What about Louie?"

"I'm here to stop her."

"Stop her!? Stop her from what!?" Derek panics.

"Long story. I'm just here to make sure that you contacted her and she showed up to rescue you. It was the easiest way to find the unfindable," the demon tells Derek as he advances on him. "If I have you, if your life is threatened, then she'll come running…." The demon stops talking when he hits an invisible wall. "What the hell?" He tries to move towards Derek again and once more he's stopped by an invisible force. "Fuck!"

"Exorcizamus te."

The demon and Derek both turn to see Sam and Lou walking down the alley towards them. Sam keeps speaking as Lou has a sawed-off shotgun pointed at the demon's chest for insurance. "Omnis immundus spiritus. Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii."

"How the fuck…?" the demon starts to get angry but before he can finish the question, Lou clicks on the small flashlight in the fist of her arm that's steadying her shot gun. With the beam aimed at the ground, the black-light bulb illuminates the previously invisible paint on the ground to reveal a devil's trap. She smirks as the demon whips his head back to Derek. "Your sister, Lizzy, got my mother killed. My mother was trying to stop it all!"

"Stop what?" Derek asks, his need to know strong.

"Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica," Sam keeps going in the background. "Ergo, draco maledicte."

"Stop it all from happening all over again!" he shouts at Derek. "It's going to happen again!"

"What's going to happen again!?" Derek rushes through, trying to get answers.

"Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire…."

"The Apocalypse!" the demon scream, looking at all the humans around him, eyes landing on Lou. "My mother came for you and Elizabeth years back, to end it then and there! It'll be your fault if I don't end it now!"

"Te rogamus," Sam almost finishes up but pauses there, like always, his curiosity getting to him. He stops. "Your mother tried to kill Lou and Lizzy years ago… did she kill their parents?"

"Yes!" the demon sighs out with a little relief, seeing that they will give him the time of day to listen now that he's gotten their attention.

Lou narrows her eyes at the demon. "Your mother was Laraje?"

"Yes. She made me," the demon nods, shoulders dropping. "Clearly, my plan to kill you and finish her work isn't gonna happen. I can see now that you got me. But… if I tell you everything, you gotta promise not to kill me."

"The guy you're wearing, he still alive?" Sam needs to know before making a deal.

"Yes. Just jumped into him an hour ago."

Sam, nods, and looks at Lou, silently communicating that he's down for the deal. Lou then nods slightly and turns back to the demon. "Deal. Get talkin'."

Derek just stays quiet now, letting the professionals handle this. He's so confused. He's so scared. He can't move and he knows his voice is paralyzed.

"Good," he exhales hard and begins. "Okay. So, years back my mother figured everything out. She tried to kill you and Lizzy but failed and got herself exorcized. She then got back out of Hell, found Dean and Lizzy, and tried to break them up and once more prevent everything that's destined to happen. But, of course, Lizzy's like to that fucking angel ruined it. Castiel killed my mother before she could do her work. She tried so hard to warn Dean and Elizabeth but, like the fucking dense hunters they are, they didn't listen. They weren't ever gonna listen… but now I'm hoping you two will." His eyes sweep back and forth between Sam and Lou.

"Wait… so… demons have moms?" Lou questions his use of the word.

"All that and the take away for you was demons having moms?" Sam has to ask her, shocked by what she's focused on.

Lou just shrugs.

"No. Kinda," the demon answers. "My mother is the demon that turned me in Hell. She made me the demon I am and even after I turned she kept tabs on me, looks after me. So… called her mother. And she was a smart demon. Even when things were good in Hell, she knew events and changes were coming. Bad ones. She knew so much, she paid attention, she put it all together and wanted to stop the cycle."

"Cycle?" Sam questions.

"We are in a cycle," the demon explains. "The first Apocalypse failed. And good fucking job on that, asshole." He gives a furious look to Sam at that. "You all seem to think that since it failed, everyone is in the clear. Well, you're not. And the whole good and evil battle is just going to keep going at it until the big war actually happens for real and someone finally wins. It's going to happen again unless you two stop it."

It's silent for a moment in the alley, the cars and city noise feeling far away as they are practically isolated. Derek is completely lost, not knowing a damn thing the demon is speaking of, but Lou and Sam stay silent for other reasons. For reasons of fear and confusion.

"Okay, so let's say for the sake of argument that you're not full of shit," Lou indulges for a moment. "Tell me how the new Apocalypse is going to happen."

"It's still all about bloodlines," he answers. "It'll basically be the same shit, different decade. But better. Or worse. Depends on perspective. And player one is already on the board."

"Player one?" Sam pries.

"Samuel Robert Winchester. I believe you know him quite well."

Lou rolls her eyes with the story they know all too well. "Seriously!? You're not telling us anything new!" She turns to Sam. "Send his ass off. He's just stalling."

"I'm not stalling!" the demon pleads.

"I don't know. She's right. This sounds like stalling," Sam agrees.

"It's you two!" he shouts and points at them both. "No one believes me! But I know the truth! My mother was right all along! You think Dean and Elizabeth were the only destined ones!? Ha! Your whole family is cursed! It's all about you two now!"

Lou narrows her eyes at the demon. "What about us two?"

"I wanted to kill you to make sure it'd never happen but now that I know that won't be happening… I need to warn you," the demon explains. "The Second Coming is already here. Samuel is born and half the prophecy is fulfilled. All the world needs is an Antichrist to rival him. But it won't be just any Antichrist. It'll be  _the_  Antichrist. It'll be the product of angelic bloodlines, Biblical bloodlines, and… demon blood from a Knight of Hell. You two have checked every box!"

Sam and Lou's face pale with what the demon says.

"Sam, that demon blood isn't going anywhere. You will live with that until you die. And Lou… you're chock full of half the angelic DNA that your sister is. You're the perfect storm of evil incarnate."

"But we're not evil," Lou turns it around.

"Does that matter?" the demon laughs. "You think Hitler's parents were all that bad? They were actually pretty wonderful. And Genghis Khan? His mother was lovely."

"But this makes no sense…" Lou denies it all.

"You two cannot procreate!" the demon begs of them. "You cannot let this happen!"

Lou's panicked eyes peek up at Sam to see his jaw set, trying to hide his complete terror.

"How do we know you're telling the truth instead of lying to save your ass?" Sam asks, hoping that this is all fabricated.

"I have nothing to lose!" the demon yells at them. "I know I'm done here. Why would I bother unless it was true?"

"Your homecoming isn't gonna be comfy if what you're telling us is true," Sam points out.

"That's fine. I'd do that for my mother," the demon admits.

"Why would you want to stop the Apocalypse though?" Lou needs to know.

The demon's eyes darken. "Because you don't know what Samuel is yet. You have no idea what he's capable of. We would not win that fight. Samuel will end all of us if he figures out what he can do."

And that's where they all go deadly silent. This is too much information. This is too heavy. If even a little of it is true, then their family is possibly beyond screwed and the world's destruction could easily be on them.

"We need to check up on all of this," Sam speaks first, looking down at his wife as they both deal internally with a whole new form of fear.

"It can't be right," Lou whispers out, never this filled with terror.

"It is!" the demon interrupts.

"Shut up!" Lou yells at him before closing her eyes, processing through everything they've just learned as much as she can in the moment. "We need to talk to… talk to…." Talk to who? "Someone. Someone has to be able to confirm this."

"Crowley?" Sam asks, thinking the head of Hell would know it all.

"Yes!" the demon shouts with excitement, seeing that they're hearing him. "Talk to Crowley! Tell him Belial failed and told you everything. He knows about it all and he told me he didn't want another Apocalypse! He's with me on this!"

"And Crowley does really like you," Sam adds in seriously, nodding at Lou.

"Shut up," Lou scrunches her face, hating that.

"But he does," Sam repeats. "Whatever it is, a crush or whatever, it could work in our favor if we need to talk to him." He sighs with the new heavy burden on them. "Lou, we need to look into this."

"I know," Lou says, rubbing her forehead with the back of her flashlight holding hand. "Fuck!"

"You have anything else you want to tell us?" Sam asks, ready to get out of there and handle everything.

The demon relaxes for a moment, realizing he wasn't a total failure. "No."

"Good. Audi nos."

Instantly, the businessman screams out as black smoke billows out of his throat and into the air above them in the alley. Wide eyed, Derek watches the smoke gather and swirl before plunging into the pavement below their feet. It burns right through, into the ground, and when it's gone it leaves no trace.

The body of the businessman is slumped on the ground when it's over. Lou runs to him and picks up his head, checking him over.

"He's alive," she tells them.

Right after, the man opens his eyes and looks around with absolute fear. "Wha… what happened!?" he panics.

"You're good now, dude," Lou tells him, helping him off the ground. "Relax. We got that demon out of you. You're golden."

"Demon!?" he freaks out.

"Okay, let's get you back to work or something," Lou tells him, ready to get the fuck back home and look into everything. "Sam, you and Derek get back to his apartment. I'll meet you there soon."

"Lou…" Sam tries to stop her.

"I'll meet you soon!" she fires right back out, making sure they don't question her this time. "I need to… focus on this guy. And I need a second."

"Don't disappear," Sam sternly says to her.

"I won't."

"Lou…."

"Sam! I won't!" she promises. "Please. I need, like, a few minutes. Get Derek outta here and I'll meet you guys."

Sam nods and ushers Derek back home as he calls work and claims to be sick for the rest of the day. He watches Lou talking to the formerly possessed man, being quite calm. Sam know she's just trying to keep it together right now. But then again, so is he.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said... HUGE REVEALS! Is it all true? I don't know... well, I do, but I'm not saying right now. I am dying to hear what you guys think about all this? Let me know!


	6. Oh Brother, Here Thou Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two months. Two whole months with no updates. If you're still reading this, I'm so sorry and... I LOVE YOU!

* * *

Tapping his foot, his impatience getting to him despite usually being much better at being patient when in the middle of a grand scheme, the King of Hell waits on his throne for the return of one of his most sycophantic demons. He sent him on a big task, to lure Louise into a situation in which she would hear the truth. He hopes he didn't misjudge his selection of henchmen to send off. He's a King-pleaser, looking to be the biggest brown-noser there is, so it felt like a solid bet.

Black smoke rushes into the room, twisting in mid-air before finding it's intended target; a lifeless body on the floor of the dark, old throne room. It flies down the body's throat and when done its eyes open, pitch black.

"Took you long enough," Crowley complains, picking at a fingernail as he sits cross-legged on his throne. He never bothers to spare the demon a glance.

"Sorry, sir," the demon apologizes, standing up quickly and stretching out the new form he's just entered. He cracks his new neck once before focusing in. "The hunters had to travel to Derek. It took some time."

"And?"

"And… everything went as planned," the demon smiles with pride. "I followed Derek as obviously as I could. I let them trap me. I spilled my guts… and they sent me back here. Just as you so expertly planned, sir."

Crowley nods, playing it aloof. "I expected as much. And how did they react?"

"Lou and Sam both were very inquisitive as we assumed they would be. They wanted to know as much as I could let them know. Oh, and… they think I'm Bilial, so they won't come after me."

"Good," the King nods again. He stands up and adjusts his suit accordingly. He then steps down from the throne and stands before his henchman. "So, the Winchesters will be looking into this newly discovered piece of prophecy now, yes?"

"Oh, absolutely, sir," the demon continues to grin. "They looked thoroughly freaked. I can almost guarantee they'll be heading home and digging up that old coot Bobby's books to start reading up."

"Which they'll find plenty on Bilial but be unable to summon him."

"Since you killed him yourself," the demon sucks up. "Wise move, sir. Now they just have to trust whatever it is you tell them since they will undoubtedly contact you for the real story."

Crowley gives him a blasé look. "Will they be contacting me, you think?"

"I didn't even have to suggest the idea! They came up with it on their own!" The demon shrugs with the surprise outcome.

"Well done, Smith," Crowley pats him on the shoulder and walks past the demon.

"It's Simpson, sir," the demon's voice noticeably loses its excitement.

"Right. Um…" Crowley stops and turns, facing the demon once more. He narrows his eye at him. "How… was Lou?"

"Sir?" the demon questions, not understanding what Crowley wants.

"How was she? Was she obviously upset or disturbed? Was she… alright?" Crowley asks, knowing he's being obvious. "How did she look? She still have that fire in her eyes when she found out the truth?"

"I… uh… yeah. I guess so," he nods. "She looked like… Lou, uh, usually does when someone pisses her off. Just… real fired up. But we expected that from her, didn't we? She does tend to lean towards the bitchy side."

Crowley's eyes narrow. "You should respect a woman like that far more. She's a one of a kind."

"I agree, sir." The demon knows he's on thin ice if he doesn't say the right things in this moment. "Lou is… she's to be admired."

With a pause, Crowley answers with, "You're damn right, she is." He then walks away, preparing for the summoning that'll happen any day now.

"Anything else, sir?" the demon hopes, trying to continue impressing the King.

Crowley pauses, this time not even turning around to look at the random, nameless, faceless demon. "You're dismissed." He snaps his fingers and the demon explodes in smoke, disappearing for good. Crowley smirks and then walks away, already forgetting about the errand boy.

* * *

 

"Fuck… oh, god… fuuuuck…."

Humming to himself with pride at her sounds, Dean smirks to himself as he keeps going. Sure, his tongue is tired and he's feeling very sticky by now, but… so fucking what?

"Oh my god… yes," Lizzy's voice gets a little louder as it builds in her. After all the fighting, the disconnection, and the painful amount of stress surrounding them for over twenty-four hours, this makes it worth enduring. This makes most things worth enduring. "Fuck, I'm gonna come. Ugh… I'm gonna come."

Lizzy's hands grip into his short hair and Dean keeps giving her his all, sucking just hard enough on her clit to push her right over that edge.

"Fuck! Dean!" she shouts as she comes, her grip growing painful as her knees close and squeeze his head in a leg-vice. Her hips buck as Dean continues, his own fingers pressing into her thighs as he pries her legs open to free himself.

Dean knew he needed to prove that his apology was sincere. And it was. He meant it. He knows that, even if his suspicions were right and that he shouldn't just accept the entire Benny situation as it is, he should have trusted Lizzy more. He should have listened better.

Good thing he knows his way around his wife's body perfectly in order to sincerely apologize.

"Oh, fucking shit…" Lizzy leans up on her elbows once the pulsing bliss subsides enough to focus. She looks down at her husband as he lifts his head and grins at her, chocolate sauce smeared all over his nose, chin, and cheek. It's even between his teeth. Lizzy just starts giggling at his appearance. "You look ridiculous."

"Mm," Dean hums, licking his lips. "Worth it."

"I'll say!" she laughs more, dropping her head back on the pillow beneath her as the afterglow hits.

"So, am I forgiven?" Dean cheekily asks, getting up from his kneeling position on the floor at the end of the motel bed and walking for the in-room sink.

"Yes!" she answers wholeheartedly, a hand pressed over her eyes.

"Good… because we have to get to Martin's apartment, like, five minutes ago." Dean grabs a facecloth from the pile of fresh linens on the sink counter. He wets it and looks into the mirror, wiping down his face.

"I know we hashed our shit out and all… but I gotta be honest," Lizzy tells him, getting off the bed to disappear into the bathroom. "I'm nervous about including a hunter that's lost his marbles in this. I don't want him to be irrational and do something he shouldn't."

"Martin's okay," Dean promises as, for what he knows, he is.

"Just okay?" she calls out to him.

"Really okay," Dean corrects. "Sam talked to him on the phone months back and said Martin sounded good."

"Good enough to hunt."

"He wouldn't have put him on this if he didn't sound right. I trusted Sam's judgment on this," Dean reiterates, finding a smudge of chocolate by his earlobe and wiping it off. "And, I mean, they don't just release psych ward patients unless they are ready for the world."

"Our world is a little different," she reminds, keeping her tone free from judgment and harshness as she returns to the room after cleaning up to grab her underwear and jeans. Her top half is still fully clothed. "I don't want Benny getting hurt… or worse… until I can prove this wasn't him killing people."

Dean tosses the cloth into the sink and heads back into the room. He grabs his boots and plops onto the foot of the bed to put them on. "Dad trusted him."

"That was a long time ago," Lizzy reminds. She threads her legs through her panties and pulls them up.

"Yeah… but I know Martin, too. He's gonna be fine about all this." Dean hopes so, at least.

"You swear?" Lizzy asks, zipping up her jeans once they're back on and snatching up her own boots. She drops next to Dean, leaving no space between them.

Dean looks right at her, eyes locking, before leaning in to kiss her once. "I promise, L."

She smiles back and kisses him one more time. Lizzy then looks down at the lap of Dean jeans, the tight fabric doing nothing to hide the erection he's sporting. "You sure we don't have time for me to take care of that first?"

Dean also looks down and then huffs a laugh. "Sadly, no." He then stands up, reaches down the front of his pants, adjusts himself with a jump and a shimmy, then turns for the door. "But I'm good."

Lizzy just laughs hard at his antics, watching him head outside to the car.

* * *

 

After dropping off the poor man that had been possessed just moments ago (being the true professional businessman that he is, he had asked to go back to work once his possession ended), Lou steps out onto the busy streets of Boston and into the bright, early afternoon day. The sun is warm and happy, the people rushing past her are amid a normal, regular day… and she's in the middle of a complete personal panic.

She has a fate. A truly terrible one. Louise Becker has a fate, just like the Winchesters and her sister and her nephew… and it's horrifying.

Lou huffs a disgusted laugh at her current position in life. For a long time, despite being the fortunate one in her family that had no tragic destiny attached to her, she felt like an outsider. Every single person she loved and considered her closest kin were doomed and she couldn't truly understand them. She was on the outside.

There's a recognition within her that every single person she loves does, in fact, love her right back in return, no matter what. But it's different. Lizzy and Dean have a bond, one they've fought through and have become strong and more bonded from, invincible in their love and protectiveness concerning their child and his fate. They comprehend each other like no other couple could.

She used to envy that.

But it was all some cosmic joke. All along, she was always involved. She's always been just like them… she just didn't know it.

And now, well… now she has the worst fate she could imagine dropped right in her lap. This is it. She's a part of the massive story line.

And she knows too much.

And she can't handle this.

And everything feels too heavy… too  _massive_ … too much.

Deep breath in, Lou hyper focuses. She needs to get back to Derek and Sam. They need a next move.

Move. She needs to move.

Lou quickly becomes aware of her body once the decision to get going is made. She's been standing on the sidewalk, blocking people while unmoving with a hand pressed shakily to her lower abdomen as she gets pummeled by the knowledge of her destiny. Immediately dropping her hand, she starts marching for the corner, waving at a cab when she sees an unoccupied one heading her way. When it stops, she dives in and tells the driver Derek's address. Her brother needs her. They need to figure out the next step for him.

That will work as a solid distraction for now. She can deal with her fate later.

* * *

 

Unlocking the front door of the Smith Center home, Castiel holds it open for Sammy to run through. The little boy bolts for his toys in the living room, grabbing his favorite dump truck and pickup truck first. As he drives them around the rug printed with roads in the corner of the room, Castiel locks the door behind him.

Pressing his back into the front door, his body melts a little and he sighs. One outing, just one, and he's already a creep. That did  _not_  go the way he assumed it would.

And he's tired. Angels don't normally get tired, maybe in seriously conflict or something of the sort, but he is nearly dead on his feet. Granted, his power level is nothing like it had been just years back, but he's unaccustomed to feeling this type of fatigue.

"Cassie! You can play trucks now!" Sammy shouts loudly over to him.

The angel closes his eyes, another deep breath in and out. "Sammy, I think I need a moment to gather myself."

"To what?" he asks, kneeling on the floor and sitting up, looking at his best friend with a confused face.

Castiel drags his feet over to the couch and sits down on one end. He closes his eyes and leans his head onto the back of the furniture. "I need a moment to rest. You are very tiring."

One full day together and he has to wonder how parents do it. Sammy is very active. In one hour, they walked a few trails, skipped rocks at the pond, fed ducks, and checked out the dogs at the dog park on site. Only then did they go to the playground. Normally when Castiel goes to a park, he's alone. And sitting the whole time. And meditating. Not running around with an unstoppable force disguised as a child.

"You tired?"

Castiel smiles at the innocent question. "Very."

The room goes silent for a moment and, instead of being suspicious of it like most parents would be, Castiel enjoys it. After a few second of bliss, he feels something dropping over his legs before he can feel a small human form crawling up his body.

Lifting his head, Castiel watches as Sammy climbs up his legs and settles into his lap. He tucks himself under Castiel's arm by taking the angel's wrist and wrapping his arm around his small shoulders. Sammy then pulls over the blanket he brought from the recliner and spreads it over them both.

"What are you doing?" Castiel asks him as he tucks Sammy in where he is.

"You tired. We take a nap," Sammy answers as if it was the only answer in the world for their situation. He leans his head onto Castiel's chest and closes his eyes.

"I don't sleep all that much, Samuel," Castiel warns him as he pulls him in a little closer until the child looks very comfortable, his tiny body fitting perfectly in the nook of Castiel's arm.

"I not tired," Sammy says and then immediately yawns.

"I'm sure you're not," Castiel sarcastically smiles out and watches as Sammy almost immediately falls asleep.

They both had a big day, apparently.

Leaning his cheek down onto the top of Sammy's head, Castiel settles in and allows that meditative feeling wash over him in the suddenly quiet room. This boy has changed his life. He may not be Sammy's father but that doesn't stop Castiel from feeling like maybe he is in some weird way. Without him, Sammy wouldn't exist. Castiel's meddling with birth control pills lead to Lizzy's pregnancy happening. And like every parent, he'd give his life for Sammy in a second and without thought.

Love used to be a foreign concept. It hasn't been completely misunderstood by the angel for a few years now, not since his acceptance into the Winchester family, but love is a much clearer concept than ever before now that he's had Samuel in his life.

He's an angel with an actual family and with a true concept of what love feels like. The meaning of life has an actual answer for Castiel. It's this. It's loving one another and being good. It's experiencing true adoration.

The meaning in life is love, Castiel is certain of that. He's sure that's what his father intended and he's gotten to experience the human meaning of life unlike any angel before him. For that, he's very thankful.

Castiel drops an uncharacteristic kiss onto Sammy's head and silently, just in case his Father is still listening and maybe even cares, he thanks God for what he has.

* * *

 

Dean stands in front of the splintered motel door on the third floor, glancing to his side at Lizzy. He raises his eyebrows, asking for her to once more follow his lead and give Martin a chance. She rolls her eyes, stubbornly agreeing, and Dean raises a fist to knock.

Before he can, the old door flies open to reveal a balding man with wide, darting eyes.

"You said look for an eruption? How's Mount Vesuvius?" he asks in harried way and opens the door for the two hunters to come in.

Now it's Lizzy with the wide eyes, shocked by the greeting they're getting.

Dean ignores the worry and enters the basic, bare motel room. Lizzy follows, Martin shutting the door with a slam behind them. "I got into town about a week ago. Up until last night, nothing. He's been clean."

"Doing what?" Lizzy asks.

"And who are you?" Martin turns to focus on the woman in the room he's never met.

"Lizzy. I'm with him," she nods at Dean.

"Wait… where's Sam?" Martin asks Dean. "He's the one that's been contacting me. I thought he was coming with you?"

"Change of plans," Dean offers little explanation. "Lizzy is good. She's family."

"Family?" Martin asks.

"We're married, so… family," Lizzy clarifies.

The lightbulb goes off in Martin's head. "But Sam said you were the one that was friends with this vampire and you couldn't be involved! What the hell!?"

Gritting her teeth, Lizzy inhales deeply once to control her anger at Sam and Dean for going behind her back like this. "Well, Sam couldn't make it. I'm here instead. What's been going on here with Benny?"

"Oh, you mean  _Roy_?" Martin exaggerates the alias he's found Benny to be using. "Just minding his own business. Working at the gumbo shack. Slinging hash, pouring coffee… the whole bit."

"So… he has a job," Lizzy smiles slightly. "And he's just… living like a normal person."

"Normal people don't exsanguinate people," Martin fires back.

"Funny, neither does Benny." Lizzy smirks at Martin with confidence.

Before the hunter can get upset at her, Dean diverts the conversation. "Martin, you sure you're running on a full charge?"

"Y-yeah," Martin answers unconvincingly. "L-l-little s-shock therapy in the morning, and I-I'm…." He snaps his fingers. "Good to go."

"Okay," Dean lies and nods, placating a clearly damaged man. "Why don't you tell us what happened last night."

"So, I followed him home, just like every night. He turned up a path. I hear a scream. I catch up. Then, boom… there he is. The old coot that Roy was eyeballing at the joint, vamped."

"Wait a minute," Lizzy cuts him off there. "Martin, did you actually  _see_  Benny kill the guy?"

"I saw enough." Martin gives a narrowed eye look at her, getting a feeling that Lizzy's not here to take care of the vampire situation in the way he wants to.

"Well, then, how can you be sure it was Benny if you didn't actually see him do it?" Lizzy questions him, not at all convinced.

"B-b-because I saw Benny turn up the path, and then two seconds later, I trip over a body with its throat ripped," Martin gets really riled up with this. "Look, lady, you… you ever hear of Occam's Razor? Keep it simple, stupid? It's not that complicated."

"It just seems like there's a lot of holes here, Martin," Lizzy tells him. "I don't think there's enough proof to kill Benny just like that."

"Holes!?" Martin outrages. "The only holes we should be looking at are in the vic's neck!"

Lizzy sighs and looks to Dean. "This doesn't sound like Benny."

"I don't know Benny. How would I know?" Dean responds with, only a little touch of anger in his words. Mostly, he's just being honest in that he knows nothing about her friend.

"What!?  _Sound like Benny_? Say what!?" Martin yells turning to Dean. "Why am I getting the distinct impression that your friend here really is vouching for a vampire?"

"We're not here to argue, man," Dean attempts to calm Martin.

"Dean's right," Lizzy nods, also staying calm. "Nobody's arguing, but if this  _is_  Benny… and that's a big if…."

"Oh, it's him," Martin interrupts with certainty.

"But I have a very strong history with him, okay? I'm not about to participate in a witch hunt." Lizzy returns her focus to Dean. "Baby, I owe him more than just assuming."

"What in God's great creation could a human possibly owe a vampire!?" Martin nearly screams, losing his mind over this. "Dean? Am I hearing her right?"

"It's a long story…" he tries but doesn't get far.

"I thought we were hunting a vampire!? Aren't you the  _Great Dean Winchester_!? Why would you bring this monster-sympathizer with you!?"

"I just want to wait until we get the facts," Lizzy remains calm and speaks to Martin in a strong yet even tone. "We need to stow the bloodlust for the time being and we work this case right. Or Dean and I work it separately. From you."

"Sounds to me that doing it right would be separating his head from his shoulders…" Martin grumbles.

"I just need some time," Lizzy promises.

"Oh, yeah. And let the fang take another life?" Martin challenges, eyes wild. "I don't think so."

Dean ignores Martin, looking only at Lizzy when he asks, "How much time you need?"

"What!?" Martin outrages, eyes hard on Dean. "You're not actually considering this."

"A couple hours, at the most," Lizzy vows to her husband. "I want this resolved fast."

"And if it turns out Benny's to blame?" Dean has to check with her, make sure she's going to do this right no matter which way it goes.

"Then…" Lizzy sighs heavily, still having that sliver of doubt that Benny may have actually done this. "I'll deal with it."

"Okay. Okay, a couple hours, L. But no more," Dean fairly warns her. "We need to move on this. Whatever vamp that did this, they get wind we're here and they'll skip town before we can catch 'em."

"Fair enough," Lizzy slightly smile through her worry. She presses up on her toes and kisses his cheek. "I'll call when I know anything."

"You better," Dean gives her a solid warning.

Avoiding Martin's harsh gaze, Lizzy leaves and shuts the door behind her.

"You're joking, right!?" Martin questions everything that just happened the moment the door clicks in place. "We're doing this as soon as she pulls away."

"Nah."

Martin stares at Dean a beat before echoing, "Nah!?"

"We're gonna give her a little bit of time."

"Uh… well… I don't know who this  _family_   _member_  of yours is…."

"She's my wife, Martin," Dean reminds with a sharp edge to his voice. "Tread lightly."

"Hey, she's…she's your wife. I get it," he nods nervously, backing off with the harsh warning. "It's your call."

"Yes, it is," Dean easily agrees.

"How long are you gonna let her go on like this? It's staring her right in the face."

Dean sighs, looking at the floor for a second before returning to Martin's eyes. "Well, sometimes it's not easy to see things for what they are. She's knows Benny in a different capacity than we do. I don't understand it but I understand her. And I trust her. We're giving her some time."

Martin huffs and puffs a bit over the refusal for action, but eventually he calms back down. He walks to the vintage refrigerator in the room and pulls a couple bottles of beer out. He sits at the splintered table in the room and twists off both bottlecaps from the cheap beers. Sipping from one, Martin places the other in the open spot across from him.

With a little relief, Dean happily plops into the other chair and takes a long swig of beer. The resounding 'ah' he lets out after makes it clear he's had a rough day or two. Even if he made up with Lizzy after all the tension they'd managed to create, he's still feeling the stress of the situation itself.

"So… Lizzy's your wife," Martin strikes up a conversation.

"Few years now, yeah."

"But… you're a… h-h-hunter."

"Yes, I am."

"And she's a h-hunter?" Martin keeps inquiring, stuttering over the word hunter twice in a row.

"Since she was twenty. Bobby Singer trained her and her sister."

"Huh," Martin nods to himself, picking at his beer label. He then sharply looks up at Dean. "She's pretty."

"She's smokin' hot," Dean corrects.

"She is," Martin nods nervously.

"Yeah," Dean half laughs.

"And she's very sure of herself."

"She's a damn good hunter. She should be."

"So, then…." Martin thinks before asking. "How'd you manage to get her?"

Dean smiles a little. "I have no freakin' idea," he answers, tipping back more beer.

* * *

 

Arriving at Derek's apartment, Lou looks up at the several story complex. With a deep breath, she wipes the black, dripping makeup under her red eyes and attempts to compose herself. It was embarrassing enough that she had to ride the subway out of the city midday while crying. She doesn't need her little brother and husband seeing how weak she is right now. She hates when Derek used to look at her with sad, helpless eyes when things went wrong and she can't stand how Sam becomes this coddling, claustrophobic caretaker when anything is wrong. He's learning to back off until she's ready… but he hasn't totally figured it out. Which is weird to her because when his brother is dealing with anything heavy, Sam backs way off. Sometimes she wants that treatment.

Alright. Stow her shit. Get in there, make a plan, move on. That's what she needs right now. A task.

When they get home, they can figure out the rest. They can figure out the destiny set before them.

Derek buzzes her in and once she walks through the door she knows everything is exactly as she hoped it wouldn't be.

"Derek, don't look at me like that," Lou tells him as she kicks the door closed behind her and marches across the room. She drops her bag and grabs Sam's laptop that he'd left on the coffee table. "And don't! More time!" she warns with a finger point as Sam reaches out for her from his spot next to her on the couch.

"Okay," Sam disappointedly responds, awkwardly placing his hands in his lap.

"I'm not talking about it because it's never going to happen," Lou states with confidence, though her voice breaks a little at the end. "No need. First… we need to talk about what happens now. And then Sam and I gotta get back."

"We don't need to rush back," Sam counters. "You can stay here for a minute."

"I might have to head to New Orleans," Lou reminds him. "I'll call Lizzy and see if I'm needed. If not, we should go relieve Cass from Sammy duty. He's probably going nuts by now."

Sam huffs the smallest of laughs at the very thought.

"Uh…." Sam and Lou both turn to see Derek walking meekly into the room. He sits at a chair facing them and leans forward on his knees with his elbows. "I, um… I think I need more time. With you. At least to let me know what the hell is going on. And I need to know how to defend myself, probably. Once you leave… I'll be alone again."

Lou closes her eyes. There's just so much she needs to be responsible for right now, she needs to be a big sister… but she just wants to be home and alone and given time to think.

Lou sucks it up. "Well, first of all, you should know that dad was a cheating whore."

"What!?" Derek nearly shouts with shock, not at all expecting his sister to lead off with that.

"Oh, yeah," she nods. "Cheated on mom for years. I caught him, he didn't stop, I didn't have the heart to tell mom. And Lizzy is our half-sister."

Derek's eyes bug out of his head. "That was real?"

"Demon got a lot right. Dad and Cathy got hammered one night years and years ago and they fucked. Lizzy came from that. They never told anyone. Lizzy found out a few years back."

"What the fuck, Louie!?" Derek gets mad. "You say this like it's no big fucking deal. This is a big fucking deal!"

"I've had time to adjust, I guess," Lou shrugs with an apologetic expression. "And I was a vampire. That's why I died. I was put down. But I came back because we know an angel."

Derek's speechless.

Sam places a hand out to stop Lou. "Why don't we slow down and stop tossing massive bombs at your brother for a second," he says with a small smile. "Take this one thing at a time." He lifts his eyebrows in question.

Lou reluctantly nods to agree. "Okay. So… dad and Cathy had a onetime affair…."

As she starts at the very beginning, Sam sits back and listens to it all, from half-sisters to death to coming back to angels and demons and ghost, oh my! He adds in his two cents to help clarify now and then, but he mostly lets her do the talking. By the end, Lou's visibly more relaxed. She and Derek had a real dialogue going the whole time, they spoke easily and without the previous hostility. Lou didn't appear to once think about the massive fate they just discovered. It was good for her.

"So… I think that's it," Lou finally sums up hours later, the sky outside dark.

"Jesus…" Derek sits back, runs his hand through his hair, and sighs.

"You know, that whole story sucked ass. Most of my life has sucked in the past few years," it finally dawns on Lou with the summation of her story. She turns to Sam. "Why the fuck was it again that I wanted to get into hunting?"

"No idea," he laughs a little but grabs her hand in his, kissing the back of it once. Through the whole conversation, he saw the glimpses of Lou, the  _real_  Lou that he loves the most. She smiled with the good memories, her frown was deep for the toughest parts, but she owned it all because it's her life and she chose it. His heart's full right now, even if it should be broken for her. "But I'm damn glad you did."

"You're a fucking girl," she rolls her eyes but smiles. She knows he means that they wouldn't have met if she never became a hunter.

"So, like… what are you two?" Derek speaks up about their connection finally. "You're totally together, right?"

"Right…" Lou nods. "We, uh… we're married."

"You're married!?" Derek disbelieves and when Lou nods he bursts out laughing.

"Wow, thanks, asshole."

"Ha! Married!? You!?" Derek continues to laugh and then looks at Sam. "Are you fucking insane!?"

"Probably, yeah," he answers without having to think, adding into the laughter.

"Dick," Lou elbows him for that.

"Hey, you know you're not easy," Sam reminds gently.

"Neither are you!" Lou turns it around.

Sam just smirks at her and kisses her lips quickly once.

"Oh! Oh, man! That's fucking crazy," Derek huffs out through the last of his laughing fit. "My stomach hurts."

"Why is it so hard to believe that I would get married!?" Lou gets defensive.

"Uh, because you always told me marriage was a sham created to keep women from becoming more than just placating housewives and that marriage was a male established fantasy," Derek tells her, recalling the old Lou as she was.

"Whoa," Sam comments, eyes wide on his wife. "Hippie much?"

"Feminist," she corrects. "And I still am one. I just realize now that I was partially wrong about the institution. It can be a bond between two people in a way that is equal in both respect and responsibility. Our marriage is nothing like my parents'."

"Thank god," Derek mutters.

"Amen," Lou concurs. "Mom, though a strong-willed woman, was a hippie… and a housewife. She was a total contradiction. And dad was always banging other skanks behind her back while she raised us and kept a household."

"I can see why marriage was a four-letter word for you," Sam lets her know he understands.

"But we're nothing like that so… marriage can be awesome." Lou smiles a little, unable to keep herself from feeling the awesomeness of their relationship.

Sam grins and bows his head, still lovestruck by the woman he's sitting next to.

"Plus… I mean, look at him," Lou jerks a thumb Sam's way. "Dude's fucking hot as hell."

"Alright, I'll give you that," Derek agrees, grinning. "You bagged a hottie."

Sam's head whips up, looking between the two of them. "I'm right here."

"Yes, you are," Derek winks obviously and watches Sam blush.

"Oh, right… I didn't tell you Derek was gay," Lou realizes now. "So, uh… Derek's gay."

"I'm getting that," Sam nods, super uncomfortable with not just one but now two people checking him out. "So… uh… I'm gonna go grab us something to eat or whatever…."

"There's a pizza place around the corner that's good," Derek tells him without getting up from his seat. He reaches into his back pocket of his suit-pants and pulls out his wallet before tossing it to Sam. "Dinner's on me. You guys saved my ass and had a rough one."

With the mention of their rough day, Sam and Lou lock eyes, terrified of the other speaking up about the huge fate they've just discovered. Lou panics internally before blurting out, "Sausage, pepper, and onion!"

Sam's forehead wrinkles, recognizing how desperate his wife is to not speak about anything yet. He goes along with it for now, knowing they'll have to talk about it all soon enough. When they get home.

"Alright. Anything else?" Sam directs the Question to Derek.

"They have a really good Greek salad. Oh, and get some of their hummus and pita."

Sam smiles. His kind of food. "I'll be back soon."

He leaves quickly and then it's just the long-lost siblings.

"I like him," Derek mentions, finally feeling more comfortable with his sister now that they've had time to talk and he's caught up. Perspective is everything and he can now understand her better than ever before.

"Yeah, figured you would," Lou jokes, looking down and picking nervously at her nails.

"I mean, he's gorgeous…."

"Duh."

"And he's super tall. Built like a fucking Greek god… and he's quiet." Derek smirks and waits for Lou to look at him.

When her head whips up, Derek lets go of a real laugh.

"Really?"

"I grew up with Lizzy and you. I value silence in a partner," Derek jokes. "But seriously. He's clearly smart, he's caring, and, for whatever reason, he thinks you hung moon. Dude's completely in love with you. I really like him and… I'm glad you have him."

Lizzy smiles, once more looking down at her hands. Meant to be or not, Sam is everything she's ever needed but never knew she needed. And Derek saw it all in no time. "Me fucking too. He… Sam's better than I deserve and I have no idea where I'd be without him."

"Eh… you're a hardheaded bitch. You'd be fine," Derek semi-compliments.

"What about you?" Lou asks. "You know everything about me the past ten years. What's happening with you? Work? Boyfriend?"

"Uh, I finished college," Derek shrugs. "Got my masters. Got a really cushy job that lets me buy Armani suits and drive a Jag. I work sometimes seventy hours a week during busy seasons and… I hate it."

Lou's expression wrinkles with upset. "You hate your job?"

"I always thought I wanted what dad had. The big house, the family, the trophy husband in an apron at home making me dinner…."

"Delusional."

"Exactly," Derek agrees. "I realize now that… I don't want all that. If it costs a soul-crushing job and pretending to like working at a desk among dozens of other slaves… I can't do it. The past year, I've been trying to figure out how to get out, what to do with my life."

"Hell, you can do anything. You're still young," Lou tells him.

"And after today, after what I've seen and getting second chance to see you again," Derek sighs and pauses. "Maybe… maybe you were right. And you made the right choice."

With frozen fear in her chest, Lou stares with wide, shocked eyes and simply says, "No."

"Why not?" Derek complains.

"A million reasons why not!" Lou fires out. "Do I look happy!?"

"Yes!"

"I'm not! This life sucks! Did you miss the whole story I just laid out to you!? I was a vampire! I died!"

"You save lives," Derek calmly counters. "You help people all the time. You keep families together and happy. You make it so that evil pieces of shit like the demon that came after Lizzy won't do the same to other families." He stops and takes a deep breath. "I know I was… rude. And awful. And I let you down by cutting you off. But I didn't get it. I didn't see it and understand it. I just saw you leaving me high and dry but… you were on a mission to help people. The only thing I help is corporations that want to save cash at the tax deadline." He stands up and plops down onto the couch next to Lou. "I know you feel bad about ditching me but I'm over it. I forgive you. And you can make it up to me by letting me come back with you and Sam."

"No way," Lou denies.

"Why not?"

"Because I won't let you live like this. It's bad enough…. Just, please Derek, don't do this."

Staring back at her, she knows Derek's thinking, the gears turning as he figures out a way to make things work out for him. He always was smart.

"Take me with you," he tries again. "Take me to Kansas. At least let me live with you guys for a little bit. I want to see Lizzy and I want to meet my nephew." Derek grins wide. "Fuck. Ha! I'm a goddamn uncle. I gotta meet that kid."

Lou nods once, knowing he's right. "You should see them. And meet Dean. You'll like him."

"Yeah?" Derek smirks. "He look like Sam?"

"Not at all, weirdly," Lou responds. "But Dean's actually more your type… if your type is still the same as when you were in high school."

Derek's eyes light up. "Well, now I really have to meet him. He's my family after all."

"Fine," Lou gives in. "You can come with. But only to visit. You're not getting involved in any hunting shit. You hear me?"

"For now… yes," Derek lets her know his ultimate goal. "I'll just hang around and get to know them."

"Okay," Lou nods. This isn't going to be easy but she knows she can't stop him from seeing his family. "What about work?"

"What about it?" Derek asks.

"Uh… what are you gonna tell them? That you're just ditching for a sudden vaca?"

"I'm gonna quit," he flippantly explains.

"Just like that!?" Lou disbelieves.

"Been looking for an excuse," Derek shrugs. "I've been saving most of my money. This apartment is a shit hole and cost nothing. Honestly, aside from a couple friends and drinking buddies… I got nothing tying me here."

Lou sits back in her seat. "Well, look at you, being all spontaneous."

"Maybe I'm more like Jane than I ever thought."

"You and me both," Lou laughs a little. Neither of them saw that coming.

Derek bites his lower lip with worry before growing some balls and asking, "So, uh… you learned some pretty heavy shit about your future today…."

"So… you're basically moving then. To Kansas. With me." Lou gives him a hard stare down, letting him know that she  _is not_  talking about that. Not right now.

Derek's face softens up, his expression the complete opposite of what he had shown her when she arrived. "Ten years is a fucking long time. And in those ten years… Lou, I'm lonely. I'm… I'm alone and all I've ever wanted from the minute you were all gone was a family. And look at this place." He gestures around the clean and tidy yet small apartment. "Does it look like I'm on my way to a white picket fence here?"

"No boyfriend, then?" Lou asks again.

"No. The last guy… it ended bad," Derek shakes his head. "He was super feminine and a total drama case. I have no idea why I got with him in the first place but… I was probably just desperate for  _something_.  _Anything_. Instead, I dumped him when we went to a club and he took E and made out with every dude in a mesh tank top."

Lou blinks a few times. "Everything you just said sounds nothing like you."

"Exactly the point."

"You're not a clubbing and cosmos kinda guy," Lou smiles at the very thought.

"Can of beer and Sunday football… followed by sucking a really nice-looking dick. That's my kinda date."

Lou actually laughs, having thought she'd never manage such a thing after the day she's had. "Good to know you haven't changed all that much! And seriously, you're gonna love Dean."

"Just keep reminding me he's taken, will you?"

"Will do."

"Sweet. I'm gonna pack and get a plane ticket. You leaving tomorrow?" Derek gets up.

"Haven't bought tickets yet. Book three. We'll get you back."

"Don't worry about it. You want a beer?"

"Nah, thanks," Lou denies as Derek disappears to grab a beer and pack up.

Sitting there, waiting for Sam, Lou closes her eyes as she listens to Derek move about the apartment. Taking a few deep breaths, she fights the tears pricking at the back of her eyes. Even through the long-winded conversation that may have just saved her and her brother's relationship, she couldn't stop thinking about one thing. She wants to throw up. Or scream. Can a person throw up while screaming? She wants to do that if it's possible.

Lizzy. She needs Lizzy. She's literally been here before. She found out about Sammy's fate while pregnant with him.

She needs to talk to her sister.

* * *

 


	7. Trust is a Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two months. I'm getting worse. Sorry, readers! I'm going to keep trying, I promise! Hope the wait was worth it.

 

* * *

Walking into Guidry's Cajun Café, Lizzy has to smile. The place is old, run down but in just the right way, and everything about it screams vintage (too old) decor and great greasy spoon. Dean would love it here. He always goes on and on about gumbo when they head this far south. He loves the stuff. The more random and roadside the stop, the happier his taste buds tend to be. Of course, Benny would end up in a place like this.

If Dean ever gave Benny half a chance, he'd realize they would get along really well. Lizzy knows it in her heart. They'd be friends.

Which makes everything that much harder.

Skipping the tables, Lizzy chooses to sit at the counter top. She's only there for all of a half a minute before a young woman is in front of her.

"You know what you want?" she smiles out warmly, her vibe nothing short of pleasant and kind.

"Do I have a choice in a place like this in Louisiana?" Lizzy smirks in kind, folding her hands in front of her on the counter in an unthreatening way.

"We got some first-class gumbo," the server tells her.

"Then I know what I want," Lizzy grins. "Actually, can I have three to go?"

"To go?" the woman asks, looking at her strange. "Hope you live nearby. S'only good when it's fresh and hot."

"I'll make it work," Lizzy nods. She then has a sudden recollection of her afternoon, Dean's smiling face between her legs with a shit-eating, chocolate-coated grin. "And what ya' got for pie?"

"The special's pecan."

"A couple slices of that too, please," Lizzy adds on, smiling wide.

Nodding, the server walks away to prepare her order.

As she waits, Lizzy looks around. This is Benny's place of work. He has a job. She has to huff a quiet laugh to herself at the very thought. When she met Benny, he was a sharp-teeth gnashing monster that ripped into the vampires she was surrounded by.

And when her eyes land on the photo taped to the side of the old, antique looking cash register at the end of the counter, Lizzy grins wider. Benny and the female server she just met, happy faces staring right back at her, look relaxed and joyful. Benny has a place. He has friends and a job.

Benny has a home here in Carencro.

Now more than ever before, Lizzy needs to prove that Benny had nothing to do with this vamp kill and make sure he's still safe here. In the place he's made his own.

"Bad news," the server's voice cuts into Lizzy's thoughts. "Out of pecan."

"Of course," Lizzy returns, politely accepting the letdown. "That's all right. Oh, actually, maybe you can make it up to me. I'm looking for a good friend of mine that, over time, I've lost track of. I heard he's been kicking around these parts. Name's Roy?"

"Well, Roy works the night shift here. I mean, if we're talking about the same Roy."

"If your Roy is the one schlepping around town in beat-up camper. The thing looks like a rolling death trap."

"Yeah," the server lights up with the comment. "And here, I thought I was the only one who gave him trouble over that piece of junk."

"Oh god, no!" Lizzy laughs. "That thing is a mess."

"Gonna drive it 'till it won't drive."

"You clearly know him well," Lizzy laughs and holds out a hand. "Lizzy."

The server shakes her hands and lets go of a light, airy laugh. "Small world. I'm Elizabeth."

"Lovely name," Lizzy jokes. "You wouldn't happen to know where he's parking that terrible camper these days, would you?"

"Well, he, uh, was parking it out back, but just called to tell me he's gone up the road to Mill Creek for a few days."

"Oh. Okay. Figures I'd just miss him. He say why?"

"Oh... fishing, I think. He really deserves a break," Elizabeth informs warmly, clearly having a soft spot for the man they're talking about. "He's been working doubles for the last two weeks straight."

"Well, alright," Lizzy grins and pulls out a couple twenties from her pocket as she stands up from her stool. "Here you go. Thank you for your help."

"Let me get you some change…."

"You helped me out. Consider it my thanks… and, um, if Roy pops up before I find him, could you tell him to give Lizzy a ring?" She pulls out a business card and hands it to Elizabeth.

She looks at it once, reading the information on it. "Jacksonville PD?"

Lizzy laughs. "Sure am."

"You don't seem like a cop," Elizabeth cheerfully informs.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Have Roy just give me a buzz."

"He's not actually in trouble or anything, is he?" Elizabeth gets worried once she realizes a police officer is looking for her friend.

"Nah. I'm just a friend. Trust me, he sees that… he'll know he's safe to call. Thanks, Elizabeth."

Lizzy leaves the café with her takeout bag in hand. Once she's in the Impala, bag on the seat next to her, she pulls out her cell phone. She quickly dials Benny's number, waiting as it rings.

"Leave a message at the beep."

Benny doesn't pick up. Not good.

"Benny boy. There's a dead body here in Carencro with two holes in its neck. I came looking for you so that my husband and brother-in-law don't lop your head off and was told you went fishing. Do I need to tell you what this looks like? Don't run away. We need to talk."

Lizzy hangs up. She then reaches to the floor of the passenger side and pulls out her laptop. In minutes, she has Benny's cell phone tracked to the middle of the woods up in Mill Creek. It's not far. She can get there in no time."

* * *

After a solid hour-long nap, Sammy was ready to go. Castiel would never admit to doing a little dream walking in Sammy's head, making sure the child is happy and peaceful even in sleep, but he did. Sammy dreams of helping his daddy with the car and coloring with his aunt. He also dreamed all about his mother getting him a puppy. His attachment to dogs is strong and Castiel feels he should try and do something about that. Elizabeth always says her son's happiness and well being is her priority.

Well, it's his also.

"We eat dinner now?" Sammy asks his friend, big green eyes lit up and hopeful with the very idea of food.

Castiel smiles. "You are your father's son."

"Huh?" Sammy questions his comment, like always.

"You and your father, you both love food."

"Mommy say daddy eats like a wild animal."

"Well, your mother is very right about that," Castiel tells him as he stands off the couch, Sammy on his hip. "We have left over pizza from yesterday and, seeing as I'm not much of a cook myself, I think…."

Castiel blinks several times. The white room is bright and quiet. He looks to his side and sees no child in his arms, just empty air. He panics.

"Relax, Castiel," he hears a voice tell him. When he looks to the desk in the room, he sees a suit-clad woman, hands folded and looking at him. "I just need to speak with you."

"Who are you and where is Samuel?" Castiel booms out in his most intimidating voice.

"I see you still don't remember your other visits here."

"What other visits!?" Castiel asks, the feeling of trouble and wrong and panic set in. "Where are we!?"

"Same place you've been three times before now," the woman smiles stiffly. "You're home."

Castiel's eyes narrow, figuring it out. "Heaven."

"Yes."

"I've never seen this part of Heaven," Castiel lets her know.

"That's not entirely true," she spills the truth right away. "We've met like this before. You just don't remember."

"Why not?"

"You weren't ready to," she tells them.

"Who are you?"

"Naomi," she answers. "And I need you to tell me anything you know about the Winchesters. Specifically, Sam and Louise."

"Why them?"

"We have some intel… we think something is going on soon with them," she very mysteriously tells him. "We want to keep tabs on them. Know their every move. Dean and Elizabeth too. And Samuel."

"You don't have the right to even speak his name," Castiel sees red, hands balled into hard fists. "I won't tell you anything."

"You have before."

"I don't believe you."

"Has anything new happened within Sam and Louise's relationship?"

"They fought recently," Castiel explains without thinking. "Lou's brother was in trouble and Sam went with her to help… but he'd wanted to head to New Orleans to handle a vampire case…. Wait! Why am I telling you this!?"

"Has Samuel displayed any powers or potential for powers beyond that of a normal human?"

"No… Damn it!" Castiel shouts with frustration, leaning his hands into Naomi's desk. "I don't want to tell you anything!"

"So, basically you have nothing new to share since we last spoke."

"I don't." Castiel's eyes are wild as he struggles, trying so hard to stop himself but he can't.

"Okay. We're done here for now then."

Blinking a few more times with the sudden scenery change yet again, Castiel recognizes the Winchester home.

"What you think, Cassie?"

In his arms once more is Samuel, his eyes focused on the angel with curiosity. He's waiting for an answer.

"I, uh," Castiel thinks hard about what he was in the middle of saying. His mind blanked out. "What?"

"You say we eat the old pizza and then you stop."

Oh, right. Pizza. That's what they were talking about. "I think it's best we eat pizza again. That's all."

"Yay!" Sammy shouts and bounces on Castiel's hip with excitement. "I love pizza!"

"I noticed," Castiel smiles and heads for the kitchen. If he's going to stay on Sammy's good side for the foreseeable future, he'd better feed the kid well.

* * *

 

Using her phone to navigate on foot, it takes about a mile of hiking to get to the pinged spot on her map. As soon as she gets close enough, Lizzy realizes her friend is in the middle of digging a grave. Not good.

A few silent steps closer and she accidentally snaps a stick.

"It's not me, Liz."

Benny's voice cuts through the wooded quiet, his head lifted as he listens for every sound she makes as she gives up her skulking. He knew it was her, smelling her from a mile away.

"Is that what all the vamps doing some grave digging mid-day say?" Lizzy asks, her tone not at all accusatory. She'll give him a fair chance to explain.

"Probably not. But it wasn't me," Benny repeats, dropping his shovel and wiping his hands on a handkerchief from his back pocket.

"But wait… which me are we talking about? The Benny I know… or the Roy that I've been hearing so much about?" Lizzy says with a smirk, hands on her hips as she stands a few feet away, waiting for him to turn and address her.

Benny turns around and looks right at her. His eyes dart to her hand that's held behind her back. He knows what she's gripping.

"I'm just trying to blend in," he explains to her easily.

"Blend in?" Lizzy cocks an eyebrow. "That grave isn't helping."

"You just here to hassle me?" Benny questions, already over the banter.

"Who're you burying, Benny?" she asks, not judgment in her tone.

"Victim number two," he tells her, pocketing his handkerchief. "If you're concerned about the missed calls, I didn't want to get you involved. Now... want to safety that thing...?" he nods to her hidden hand while his own hand touches the machete holstered at his hip "Talk a little bit or what?"

Lizzy drops her machete to her side, still holding it. "I'm all ears. What's going on?"

"Rogue vamp. Came into the café a couple nights ago. Youngster goes by the name of Desmond. He, uh, he remembers me from the good old days."

"Your vampirate days?" Lizzy tries to get the full picture.

"That label is stupid."

"Made me laugh. Lou was proud of it." Lizzy smirks.

Benny huffs a quick laugh while watching Lizzy holster her weapon. "I know it's hard to believe, but I haven't always been this cute and cuddly."

"Now, I don't believe that for a second," she laughs a bit.

"He's chasing a memory, Liz," he gets back to business. "That's all. He's crewing up a new nest. He's hoping I can give him some cred. I told him no."

"Okay. So far, this is a pretty good explanation," she nods calmly. "Let's get to the part about the blood."

"He didn't want to take no for an answer. He's trying to roust me out, leaving dead bodies in my wake till I sign up. Two bodies in two days. No amateur is gonna kick me out of my hometown, Liz. Not this time." His tone turns dark at some point, his anger clear.

"Hometown? You grew up here?"

Denny nods with a slight grin. "Born and bred. With Andrea gone and you and Lou hunting again, seemed like the right time for a homecoming… you ladies being the only ones who ever keep all my ducks in a row. Went back to my old job at the café. I even found someone to hold myself accountable to. Best kind of someone, Liz. Family."

"Elizabeth," Lizzy grins.

"My great-granddaughter," he grins back with pride.

"I never even knew you had kids, Benny," Lizzy tells him, thinking how weird it is that she doesn't know such big details about Benny after all this time.

"Yeah, well… you talked about your own youngin' enough for both of us," Benny jokes.

"Ha-ha, asshole," Lizzy playfully responds. "Does she know?"

"No, no. As far as she's concerned, I was just another drifter. I'd like to keep it that way. It's been tough walking the line here after all those years in Purgatory not having to deal with the hunger. But Elizabeth... she keeps me honest. I finally feel like I got a handle on this thing."

"Handle on it? Benny, dude, you've got two stiffs on your hands and two hunters on your ass."

"Oh, please. The half-wit who found me at the café?" Benny scoffs. "I'll take my chances with him."

"That half-wit was sent by my husband and brother-in-law. Trust me… they're not people you want to mess with."

"I don't have time to worry about them," Benny denies her warning. "I didn't think Desmond had an ounce of steel in his spine, but I was wrong about that. So, now I'm gonna do what I should have done two days ago, which is put him back where he belongs."

"You sure you got this on your own?"

"We survived Purgatory, darlin'. What do you think?" He smirks at her with something flirtatious.

She smiles and rolls her eyes. "Alright, fine. You go deal with Desmond while I convince Dean and Martin to lay off. I figure you need your payback. We all do," Lizzy spells it out as she sees it.

"You really think they'll go for that?"

With a sigh and a worried smile, Lizzy tells him, "If Dean really does love me like he says he does, then yeah. He'll go for it."

"Well, okay then," Benny nods.

"And you know… you have to disappear from here now," Lizzy rips off the bandage. "No more Roy. No more working with your family at the diner. You have to poof, vanish."

Benny, heartbroken, looks the to ground below him, jaw clenched. He sighs, looking up at Lizzy with watery eyes. "Yeah. I know." His voice cracks slightly.

"I'm sorry…."

"Not your fault, Liz. Just… is what it is."

She nods but can't stay put while he looks so hurt and lost. She walks right up to him and pulls her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. She doesn't say anything, just hugs him.

Benny nods to himself once more, preparing himself to do what he has to in order to stay alive in this new world he's been brought back into. He fights the usual scent of nearby blood, the sound of it rushing through Lizzy, to focus on the comfort. He needed this.

"I care about you, Benny," Lizzy reminds him. "Be safe and smart. And you know my number if you need me."

"I know, Liz," Benny drawls out, sighing. "Thanks for comin'."

"Anytime," Lizzy smiles.

* * *

 

"Hey, grab me a Coke?"

Lou shakes her head and turns sharply to her left. Sam's looking at her, waiting for a response to his request, and when she stays silent He raises his eyebrows in silent question. She sees the drink cart coming their way soon and understands.

"Yeah… sorry," Lou smiles slightly before looking away from her husband, choosing to look ahead the couple rows to the back of Derek's head. He found a last second ticket and was able to jump on their plane with them.

"Alright, do we need to talk about this? Right now?" Sam asks her in a hushed tone, seeing through her weak attempts at acting normal.

"Surrounded by normal people? Yeah. Sounds like a good idea," she sarcastically bates back, whispers like he is.

"It's not ideal, but you're not okay. Usually you can handle yourself until you have a chance to figure it out," Sam points out. "I'm just…." He drops a hand on top of hers as it's placed on the arm rest between them. He links his fingers in her much smaller ones and stares at their physical connection. "I'm worried about you."

"What about you?" Lou asks. "You've got the same shitty fate as me."

"Yeah… but I'm used to it," Sam smiles sadly when he meets her eyes. He can see the fear and sadness in them. "I'm Lucifer's meatsuit. Doesn't get much worse than that."

"You don't think being Satan's father is worse!?" Lou shouts in a whisper, panicking internally.

"No. I don't," he easily answers. "Because I'm not fathering the Antichrist. I don't have to, at least. Now that I know."

Lou just stares at him, swallowing hard, before asking, "But I thought you wanted kids? You kept pushing for that the past year…."

"Come on," Sam shoves the thought away instantly. "You were the smart one about it. You know we can't do that. I want that, yes. I see Sammy all the time and… of course, I want that. But then I look at Sammy and…."

"You so don't," Lou finishes for him.

"Exactly. I mean, the kid's best friend is an angel… that carved protective symbols into his ribs at the age of before he was a month old. He was attacked before he was born. I may have wanted that whole… normal family thing… but it's not in the cards." Sam squeezes her hand. "And this was the final nail in the coffin for that. We know, for sure, that we can't have kids. The decision was made for us."

Lou's face softens for the first time. He's right. They just simply cannot have kids. There's not other way around it. They can't ever have kids.

For the first time since the demon spilled the big secret to them, Lou's entire being loosens and the weight lessens.

"You're right," she flips her hand around, palm up so it presses to him, and squeezes his hand right back. "Actually, this makes everything way easier, doesn't it?"

"Disappointing… but easier," Sam nods. He then leans over the armrest and kisses her quickly.

Lou smiles back and feels better. When the realization hits, all responsibility and fear and guilt disappears.

She's got a plan.

* * *

 

"Let me get this straight," Martin agitates, pacing the small motel room with an almost empty glass of whiskey. "I follow your boy... down a freaking path and trip over a fresh vamp kill, and then you practically catch him in the act of burying a second body, and you're still taking his side?" He stops at the old refrigerator and yanks an ice tray out of the freezer. All his movements are sharp and frantic, the fire building inside him at how this hunt has gone all because of Lizzy.

"Vampires pick people off from the outskirts of town, okay? This was just another one that Benny just happened to come across while looking for the actual vampire that did it," Lizzy excuses, standing against the wall, watching Martin closely. He's looking more and more like a caged animal.

"Pfffft!" Martin huffs in disbelief, picking up a fork from the small table and stabbing at the ice cubes that won't loosen.

"Vampires don't drain people where they hang out, especially not in the diners that they work in with their great-grand kids," Lizzy spells it out. "In fact, killing any human… it's not Benny's style."

"Not his style?" Martin freaks out on her. "Not his style?!"

"Okay, L… listen, we came here on a dead body and you asked for some time," Dean breaks in, trying to prevent unnecessary anger. "But now there's another dead body and, your story? Doesn't sound all that good."

"At all!" Martin adds in, pouring more whiskey into his glass with the stabbed ice in it.

"Am I going on just trust here?" Dean asks, desperate for more from her. He wants to believe. He wants her to be right. But he needs more.

"Yeah," Lizzy answers meekly, wishing she could give more.

"Okay. Okay… but we've killed for way less. You know that."

"Yes, I do. Too well. But this is Benny," Lizzy pleads her case. "The one thing I can say about Benny… he has never let me down. And you know what we've seen together."

"What if you're just too close to this to see it right?" Dean plays Devil's advocate with her. Martin nods vehemently at what Dean says, pointing at him.

"I can't give you proof. All I can say is I know I'm right. And ask that you put some faith in me."

"I put my faith in what I know. And I know vamps need to be put down," Martin cuts in, too angry to handle this conversation quietly.

"Martin, I've been patient, but you're bugging the fuck outta me right now, man," Lizzy finally breaks, the old Lizzy coming through. The angry Lizzy. "Who the fuck are you anyways!?"

"Who the fuck are you!?" Martin turns it right around on her. "I was hunting when you were in diapers!"

"And a lot's changed since you lost your fucking mind and were painting creepy clowns in a locked ward! Back the fuck off!" she shouts, taking a few big strides towards Martin.

"Ho! Hold on!" Dean intervenes, grabbing her with an arm hooked around her waist and pulling her back.

"If you're not going after him, then fine. I will!" Martin screams right back.

"You touch him, you die, asshole!" Lizzy fire out, fighting Dean's hold.

"Stop!" Dean bellows out over them both, pushing Lizzy by the shoulders to the bed and plopping her onto it with a shove. "Everybody shut up a second."

Every one quiets for a beat, Lizzy taking a few deep breaths to calm. It's been a long time since she's gotten that worked up. She tries to take her emotional level down, but when she glances at Martin she can't help but get mad again. "You're not gonna find him," she says much more quietly this time.

"Don't underestimate me," Martin returns with quickly.

"Even if you do, I'm gonna tell you this. You'll be lucky to get out alive," Lizzy issues a fair warning. "You go after him, you're a dead man. Period. That's just fair warning."

Martin drains his drink and begins pacing again.

Dean runs a hand over his mouth, looking down at his wife sitting at the edge of the bed while thinking. What a fucking mess this has turned into. "L, you know how bad this looks."

"Of course," she nods.

"And you get how hard this pill is for us to swallow just on your word?"

Nodding again, Lizzy answers, "I'm asking a lot. But I never ask for anything like this. You know how rare and out of the normal this is for me. You have to believe me."

He doesn't want to. He wants the vampire that has his wife's number to disappear off the planet. He wants Benny gone. But he wants his wife in his life far more and he knows the damage this could do to their relationship if he goes against her.

Just when Dean is about to tell her he's with her on this, Martin steps up to her side. He takes a swing and smashes his empty glass into the side of her head.

Lizzy's body falls onto its side and rolls to the floor. She lays there, head already bleeding, completely knocked out.

Instantly, Dean's eyes land on Martin with wide, wild fury.

Martin's hands go out in front of himself in surrender immediately. "She made her choice, Dean."

Without even blinking, Dean shoves Martin into the wall with all the force he can muster, his forearm smashed into the older hunter's neck with as much force as he can use without killing him.

"Let's… just… go do… our… job," Martin barely struggles out, his air cut off hard.

"Your job is the go after monsters," Dean growls out. "Not my wife!"

Martin tries to reply but can't under the pressure Dean has on his neck.

"We're leaving," Dean explains, the pure anger in his voice enough to make a well versed and seasoned hunter like Martin want to piss himself. "And so are you. You disappear and you never contact us again. You aren't cut out for this anymore, Martin. Give it up!"

Dean shoves off of Martin and turns around to check on Lizzy. As he crouches to the ground, Martin keeps talking when he most certainly shouldn't.

"You're just gonna leave a vampire in this town to kill everyone!?" he challenges, rubbing his neck and coughing.

"I trust L! She's a better hunter than both of us!" Dean fires out over his shoulder, looking at the split scalp on the side of her head. He takes out a handkerchief and presses it in place once he knows there's no glass in it.

"Glad your dad wasn't around to hear that," Martin continues to run his mouth. "He'd have a mind to take you out the woodshed and show you what's what. Half inclined to do it myself."

No words needed, Dean stands tall with smooth, seemingly calm movements. He turns around, looks Martin right in the eye, and clocks him in the face.

Martin hits the ground not unlike Lizzy. He's out.

"Fucking knock my wife out," Dean mumbles out through clenched teeth, crouching to pick Lizzy up from the floor before heading out of the motel room and back into their car. "I'll knock you out… bitch."

He leaves Martin there alone.

* * *

 

"Is she hurt badly?" Castiel asks, phone pressed to his ear. His forehead wrinkles and his chest tightens when he hears that someone hurt Elizabeth. When he gets the answer, his face lightens only slight. "I'll heal her when you return here."

Glancing to the side room, Castiel watches Sammy in his pajamas playing with cars early in the morning. He's making engine sounds, crashing them into one another, and he's content.

"He's fine. He's energetic. And always hungry… but he's in good health. I've kept him safe."

Castiel nods when Dean's words make it clear that he's pleased with Castiel's work.

"I'll see you soon, Dean." He ends the call.

Castiel smiles slightly to himself, watching and listening to Sammy having fun for a moment. The house is quiet, Sammy just finished eating two full waffles and diced fruit, and it's nice. The more he's with these people, and the less time he's with Heaven, Castiel is understanding what it is that makes life enjoyable for humans. Enjoying others enjoyment, watching children grow up, forming attachments on a deeper level than familiarity and allies in war... he's loved it all.

His phone rings again, it still in his hand.

Sam Winchester

"Hello, Sam," Castiel greets. His brow furrows. "That was a very quick trip."

He nods as Sam speaks quickly, the busy airport noise in the background.

"Very well. Sammy and I will be here when you arrive in a few hours... Oh. Alright. I'll do the best I can to help, as always."

Castiel ends the call and walks over to Sammy.

"You talkin' to people?" Sammy asks, looking up from his toys for the first time.

"Yes," Castiel answers, picking up the child and perching him on his hip. "At first, your father. Then Sam."

"They come home now!?" Sammy gets excited, bouncing a bit.

"Yes," Castiel replies once more. "Your parents will be here tomorrow morning, around when you wake up."

"Tomorrow?" Sammy gets very sad, his back sagging. A whole day feels way too far away.

"I know it feels long to you, but time is long. One day, just twenty-four hours... it's actually just a flash in the time line of existence." Sammy's blank face stares at him, the expression Dean always wears when he's not understanding something Castiel explains is all over him. Castiel rolls his eyes. "It won't be that long. Plus, Sam and Lou are on their way also. They'll be here in a few hours."

"Yeah!" Sammy cheers, once again excited. His entire being lights up when he knows his family is coming home.

"And because of that..." Castiel starts, looking around the house. Items strewn about, food left out in the kitchen... "We need to clean up."

"I take a bath?" Sammy questions, thinking that's the clean up he means. His mom always tells him to clean himself up when he needs a bath. His dad always tells him to wash his butt.

"No... Well..." Castiel leans in and sniffs the boy. His face scrunches with the scent. "Yes. You absolutely need a bath. Then we can clean the house."

"I take bath, you clean house?" Sammy asks, hoping to get out of cleaning. He hates picking up.

"Nice try. We shall do both together. Let's go."

* * *

 


	8. Home, Home on the Range

* * *

Waking up from what feels like a very long nap, Lizzy straightens up in the passenger seat.  She opens her eyes to look around, seeing it’s dark out, and she immediately presses a hand to the side of her head.  

“Easy, L.”

She turns to her husband’s voice as he drive the Impala down the highway at an impressive speed.  “Ouch.”

“That’s what you said the first time you woke up,” Dean informs her with a small, apologetic smile.  “Martin got you good.”

“I have a concussion,” she informs him, knowing already that it’s true.

“I know,” he nods, grabbing a bottle of Advil from off the seat between them.  He tosses it over.  “Here.”

Lizzy picks it up from where it landed on her lap and quickly pours out three.  She pops them into her mouth and grabs the water bottle at her feet, groaning with the elevation change.  

“Cass said he’ll fix you up when we get back.”

“You told him?” Lizzy asks with annoyance.

“I want him to fix you, so... yeah,” he answers, thinking it should be obvious.

“Shit,” Lizzy bitches, not wanting the angel fussing over her.  “So, how’s Martin?”

“How is he?” Dean wonders what she means.

“I mean, after you beat his ass for  cracking me in the head, how did he fair?” Lizzy smirks over at him.

Dean grins a little.  “Don’t know.  He was knocked out on the floor when we left.”

“Dean!  He’s old!” Lizzy scolds him.

“And I don’t give a shit,” Dean answers right back.  “That fucking dick hurt you.  He’s lucky he’s still breathing.”

The car gets quiet for a beat before Lizzy pushes him slightly in the shoulder and says, “Aw, my hero.”

“Shut up,” he laughs a little.  “I get why he was so pissed but, damn... you never hit a chick like that.  Especially not my chick.”

“So, we just left Carencro?” Lizzy has to question, the first time she awoke in the car not having been productive.  She barely spoke as she tried to fight the pain and then lost out to sleep.  

“Yeah.  Picked you up off the floor and ditched town.”

“You didn’t... make any stops or anything?” Lizzy pries further, making sure Dean stuck to his word to follow her and not go after Benny.

“No,” Dean tells the truth.  “We left.”

Touched, she smiles.  “Thank you.  Dean, seriously.  I know how hard that was for you.  Thank you.”

“Yeah, well, you made a good point.  You never ask for that kind of favor.  Hell, you barely ever ask for jack.  When you stick your neck out, you mean it.  I don’t love it, but... I had to trust you on this one.”

“You’re growing up,” Lizzy pokes a little fun.

“Day by day,” Dean nods with a tiny tug at the corners of his lips.  “L, I just hated what this did to us.  We were at odds that whole ride down... and for what?  Sam and I, we should have trusted you guys.”

“So… you believe me?  That Benny didn’t do those kills?” Lizzy asks further.

He pauses, trying to answer the right way.  “I believe that you believe he didn’t do it.  That’ll be good enough for me.”

Lizzy’s heart sinks.  “You don’t think he didn’t do it though.”

“I don’t know what to think,” Dean admits.  “I’m not exactly used to friendly monsters.  But, you say he got your ass out of Purgatory so I hope he considers this me giving him the one I owe him.”

“He does,” Lizzy nods hard.  “So do I.”

Dean just nods, watching the pavement fly through the night and feeling like he’s done something very wrong in letting this one go.

“I mean it,” Lizzy cuts through the brief silence.  “I really appreciate this.”

Dean nods again and grips tighter when Lizzy’s hand pulls one of his off the steering wheel.  They sit like that, hands clasped between them like always when the going gets tough, until about thirty miles later when Lizzy’s phone rings.

Pulling her cell from her pocket, she quickly glances at the screen and with a furrowed brow, she answers.  “Benny?”

“Liz,” he answers, his voice off.

“Dude?” Lizzy asks, the question clear with that one word.

“I... I tried.....”

“What’s happening?”  Her heart is beating wildly.  Benny never really loses his composure like this.  He sounds terribly disturbed.  “Did you leave town?”  She can see Dean rapidly glancing back and forth from the road to her and back as he tries to figure out their conversation.  She needs to keep her composure.

“I was two towns over when he called.”

“Who?” she questions, evening her expression and sitting back in her seat, trying to appear calm.

“That hunter you were with.  The one your husband had on my tail,” Benny tells her.  “He went to the diner.  Threatened Elizabeth over the phone.”

“Okay.…  What happened after that?” she asks casually.

“I showed up, he said he’d kill her if I didn’t let him lop my head clean off,” he tells the story.  “I was ready to die for her, I swear to it, Liz....”

“But?” Lizzy keeps him on track.  

“But I snapped.  It was fight or flight, I couldn’t help it,” Benny’s voice shakes.  “I wanted to stick to my word... I couldn’t let him kill her.  I... I tore him up.”

Biting the inside of her cheek, Lizzy fights to keep it together.  She can’t tell Dean or Sam.  She just can’t.  They’ll go after Benny and kill him for sure.  Fuck.  

“The way she looked at me after... her eyes.  My Elizabeth... she’s never gonna forget that,” Benny laments heavily.  

“What choice did you have?” Lizzy asks, catching the look of concern on Dean’s face when his head whips around to her.

“I didn’t... but....”

“No buts, Benny,” Lizzy explains with an even tone.  “This is what had to be done.  You had to leave town.  You had to put the bad guy down and ditch.  I’m sorry you’re leaving your family behind but....”

“Had to be done,” he finishes for her.

“Exactly.”

“He’s with you, huh?” Benny guesses with the way she carefully speaks to him.

“We’re on our way back home to see our little guy,” she smiles a mile wide, ready to get home after this disaster of a trip.

“You hold him tight, you hear?” Benny instructs.  

“Always,” she promises.  “Um... Benny?”

“Yeah?”

“I think... I’m sorry.  I am.  But I think it’s best for everyone in my family if... we maybe don’t speak from here on out,” she feels her throat closing with sorrow for having to do this.  “Maybe only call in extreme emergencies?”

“You cutting me out?” Benny asks, knowing already she is and why.

“I don’t want to,” her voice cracks and eyes water.  “You know I owe you so much....”

“We’re even,” Benny forgives.  “Don’t you worry about me, Liz.  I can handle myself.  You just be with your family.  Go find that happiness we always used to talk about.”

A tear falls.  “You’re better than most, Benny boy.”

“Nah, you just hit a soft spot.”

The line goes dead right then.  Lizzy knows he hung up to make it easier.  

She drops her phone in her lap and wipes her face.  She sniffles once and controls herself, looking at the road.  

“Did you mean that?” Dean asks after giving her a few seconds.  

“Yeah.” she nods.  “You need to trust me.  And I don’t want him dead by you.  Or Sam.”

Dean nods, feeling a little lighter.  They can manage if Benny’s out of communications.  They can make it work.

Eye closes, Lizzy speaks up as she knows she has to.  Dean and Sam will be scouring news papers and news sites for vamp kills still because Benny’s still alive.  “I have to tell you something.”

“Crap,” Dean comments.  “What?”

“After we left, Benny was already on the road.  He was two towns over... when Martin went guano.”

Dean’s face drops.  “Meaning?”

“He threatened Benny and his great great granddaughter.”

“What happened, L?” Dean asks in his stern, serious voice.

“Martin shouldn’t have done that,” she explains.  “He threatened to kill someone, a human.  Benny defender both her and himself....”

“What happened!?” Dean shouts as she stalls.

“Martin’s dead,” she blurts it out.

The silence is killing her as Dean drives on.  The only thing that gives him away is the clenched jaw.  He’s fighting not to lose it over this.

“He had no choice….”

“Don’t,” Dean sharply responds.

“Martin wasn’t fit to hunt anymore….”

“Don’t blame this on Martin!” Dean shouts at her with pure fire.  “A hunter is dead because you couldn’t kill a vamp!  What the hell, Lizzy!?”

“A hunter is dead because you put a hunter that couldn’t handle the job anymore on a vampire that wasn’t a threat!” she quickly returns with.

“He’s a monster!”

“He’s my friend!”

“Stop it!” Dean breaks the already building argument right then.  “Just… stop.  Okay?  Give it a rest for a second.”

Lizzy quiets herself, keeping it all to herself when she knows he’s right.  When they fight like this and they let the heat and anger get to them, they only end up hurting each other and solving nothing.  

“Let’s get through to Dallas first.  We’ll take a break, grab some food, then we talk.  Let this shit calm down before we make it worse.”

Lizzy nods instantly.  “Okay.  I can do that.”

“Good,” Dean relieves.

“Good,” Lizzy echoes, looking over to him.  

And they drive on.

 

* * *

 

 

“Home sweet home,” Lou says over her shoulder to her brother as they pull into their modest house in Kansas.  Putting the Mustang in park, Lou turns off the engine and looks back at Derek’s squished form in the backseat.  “Sorry for the lack of room.”

“It’s fine… just get me outta here,” Derek laughs.

Lou rushes out of the car and pulls her seat forward to let him out.  Sam gets out of the passenger side and heads for the trunk for their few bags.  

“I can’t believe you have this old thing,” Derek mentions, looking at the Mustang again once he’s out of it.  “That’s nuts, Louie.”

“Hey, Mac was a great dude and he made a promise,” Lou reminds him of the former owner.  Lou and their father did all the restoration work on the Mustang for him and he promised, after he saw the care and love she held for it, that he would leave it to her in his will.  “He was a man of his word.”

“May he rest in peace,” Derek smiles and then looks around himself on the front lawn of a two story house.  He checks out the porch with the rocking chair and Big Wheel on it.  And he sees the chalk drawing on the driveway they just drove over.  And then he inhales deep, the air clean and fresh.  “So this is Kansas?”

“This is it,” Lou nods.  “There’s a Target about a hundred miles that way,” she points to the west.  “And the nearest grocery store wouldn’t know what an avocado is if it bit them in the ass, but hey… it’s home.”

“You’ve lived like this for over a year?” Derek disbelieves.  

“You get used to it,” she shrugs.  “I thought I’d hate it too, but… I’m cool with it.”

“You’re so different now,” Derek laughs at her and goes to pull his arm around her shoulders but stops when he hears a loud, young voice.

“Auntie Louie!”

A small boy tries to get down the front steps as fast as he can, one step at a time.  His green canvas jacket and spiky hair make Derek smile a little.  He looks like a shrunken adult.  And he’s damn cute.

“My dude!” Lou yells right back and bolts for him.  They meet halfway across the small yet green front yard and Lou scoops him up easily.  She swings him around a few times as he giggles loudly.  “Ugh!  I missed my little man!  How did it go with Cassie?”

“Good!” Sammy grins wide.  “We goed to the park and we colored and we eated pizza a lot!”

“Ha!  We won’t tell mommy about the too much pizza, okay?”

“Okay,” Sammy shrugs.

“Hey,” Sam laughs a bit as he catches up to them.  

“Uncle Sam!” Sammy nearly screams and leans out away from Lou, practically diving onto his uncle.

“Wow!  Good to see you, too,” Sam grins.  “Sammy, we want you to meet someone.”  He points to Lou’s brother who had been hanging back a bit.  “That is Derek.”

“Hi,” Sammy says to him, tucking his head under Sam’s chin and getting shy.  

“Hi there, Sammy,” Derek awkwardly hold his hand out to the young man formally.

Sammy doesn’t take it.

“Shake his hand, man,” Sam tells his nephew, nudging him a little.  “This is your uncle.”

Sammy’s head whips up and looks at Sam.  “You my uncle.”

“Yes, I’m your Uncle Sam.  But this guy is your Uncle Derek.  He’s Auntie Lou’s brother.  He’s our family.”

Sammy’s face looks confused.

“Yeah, I know.  Just shake his hand and give him a chance.  He’s a good guy.  And I heard he likes playing with cars just like you do.”

Sammy smiles a little and looks back at Derek with less timidity.  He reaches out and holds the still proffered hand.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Sammy,” Derek smiles wide and genuinely.  

Sammy just grins back.

“Cass!  Hey!” Lou calls over to the angel standing on the porch, watching the family speak to one another.  “Come over here!  I want you to meet someone!”

Without hesitation, Castiel walks down the step of the porch and heads for the group, his eyes narrowing on the newcomer he’s never met before.

“Cass, this is….”

“Derek Becker,” Castiel nods at her bother, holding a hand out to him.

“Uh… yeah, actually.”  Lou laughs oddly, still getting used to the angel.

Castiel stares at Derek, waiting for him to shake his hand.  Reluctantly, the man does so.

“I would know the younger half brother of Elizabeth just by sight,” Castiel explains, locking his eyes onto Derek’s and make the man very uncomfortable when his free hand encloses Derek’s.  “It is a pleasure to meet you.  I never actually thought we would properly meet, so I’m happy for this opportunity.”

Derek’s eye blow wide.  “Uh… wow, ha.”  He takes his hand back.  “Anyone ever tell you that you can be a little intense?”

“Often, actually,”Castiel nods with his very dry and truthful response.

“No kidding,” Derek laughs.  “So, you’re… who?”

“Castiel,” he tells him.  

“You’re… an angel?” Derek asks skeptically.  This guy, with his trench coat and odd ways, is an almighty angel from Heaven?

“I am,” Castiel nods once.  “Though, not a good one I hate to inform you.”

“Screw that,” Sam cuts in.  “Cass is a good guy.  You can trust him.  He’s family.”

“Well, Lizzy left her kid with him so I guess he has to be good,” Derek smiles, not sure how to feel about anything.

Castiel looks at Sammy and sighs.  “Honestly, I have a new-found respect for parents.  These few days have been… eventful.”

“We gonna go to the zoo!” Sammy bursts out with.

“Ah, that was if no one returned home today,” Castiel stipulates.  “And Sam and Lou have made it home.  Why don’t we take the day to be together and wait for your mother to go to the zoo?”

“I no wanna wait!” Sammy whines loudly.

“I believe your father would have plenty to say to you about that whining, young man,” Castiel lightly warns the boy.  “We are still going.  Just not today.  We should go clean up the house before your parents return and never trust me ever again.”

Sammy sulks in Sam’s arms as everyone starts heading into the house.  Sam stays on the front lawn for a few moments longer, getting a little time with Sammy in.  “Hey… how bad is the house?  Did you wreck it?”

“It messy,” Sammy just shrugs a little.

“So, it’s trashed,” Sam assumes now.  “How did Cassie do?  Did you have fun?”

“He a good babysitter,” Sammy tells his uncle with honesty.  “We goed to the park and I played with my friend there.  And Cassie talked to my friend’s mommy until she got all mad and leaved.”

“How did Cassie make your friend’s mommy mad?”

Sammy shrugs, having no idea.

“Hm.  Guess I’ll just have to ask Cassie myself then.”  Sam smiles to himself, excited for the true story behind Sammy’s explanation.  “I missed you, kid.”

“Miss you too, Uncle Sam,” Sammy tells him and puckers up, kissing Sam like he does his family all the time.  

Sam grins and his heart melts, just like every time Sammy does this.  He’s a loving child, filled with positive and happiness.  “Okay, let’s go inside.”

Sam puts his nephew down and the child bolts into the house.  Sam’s left there alone for a couple seconds and he lets everything hit him.  That will never be for him.  That moment, a child showing affection and love for him, will never be his own.  

He’ll never have children.

As much as he’s already accepted that, already knew even though he’s brought it up several times, it’s like a fresh wound.  They’re going to create the ultimate evil if they ever actually have a child.  He and Lou cannot be parents.

Biting the need to shed some tears for his loss, Sam sucks it up and heads for the house once he grabs all the bags from the Mustang.  Moving forward.  That’s all they can do.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ugh…” Dean complains as he rubs his stomach through his t-shirt, walking towards the Impala.

“I told you not to eat so much,” Lizzy scolds as she smirks a little at him.  The time they took was good.  Maybe Dean figured something out about them as a couple.  They need to cut the heated shouting dead in its tracks and wait a moment.  They need to stop, calm, and focus on something else like getting food and preparing to be cordial and kind to each other.  Hell, she’s even hopeful that they can get through this without yelling at all.

“Pie,” Dean answers in one syllable, taking his keys out of his jeans pocket to unlock the passenger side door for his wife once they reach the parking spot in front of the roadside diner that the car is sitting in.  

“Yeah, I get it,” she rolls her eyes at him and stops before getting into the open car door.  “Want me to drive?”

“No,” Dean immediately brushes off.  

“You really think, with six full slices of pie in your stomach, that you can drive the rest of the way home without falling asleep?”

Dean stops and thinks for all of five full seconds.  “Nah.  You have a concussion,” he says and gestures to the open car door.  “I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t drive if you get sleepy,” Lizzy warns strongly.

“I’d never put Baby at risk,” Dean counters and with an eye roll she drops into the passenger seat.  He shoves the door shut with a squeal and slam.

“She’s not a fucking person,” Lizzy bitches under her breath as Dean walks around the back bumper to the driver’s side.  “Should be more worried about hurting your wife….”

Once on the road, Lizzy waits a full five minutes before jumping into it.  When they have issues hanging over their relationship, Lizzy needs it sorted out as soon as she can and she’s been patient.  

“I cut ties with Benny for good,” she starts.  “And I meant it.  We’re not speaking anymore.  He’s on his own, I’m with you.  End of story.”

“That doesn’t bring Martin back.”  Dean’s eyes are hard on the road, never ready to talk but ready to get this over with.

“I know.”  Lizzy’s heart aches a little at that reminder.  “And this wasn’t at all the intended outcome I planned for this whole mess.  I thought for sure, when I left Benny and we had a plan for him to leave, that was going to be the end of it.  I didn’t know just how unhinged Martin had become after the life finally got to him.”

“He was pretty fucked in the head,” Dean comments, agreeing.  Martin was in a much worse place mentally than he’s assumed when Sam suggested putting him on Benny.

“Very.  What he must have seen in his lifetime….”

“No worse than what we’ve seen,” Dean comments to her.

“Not a contest.  And he wasn’t prophesied like us so he probably wasn’t made to withstand it all.”

“Touche,” Dean agrees.  He then glances at Lizzy and sighs.  “Look, this whole thing has been a fucking disaster and I’m willing to admit that… maybe choosing Martin to… follow Benny was a… bad idea.”

“Thank you for saying that!” Lizzy gets excited, angling her body to him.  “Dean, I really appreciate that you can admit to that.”

“Okay, okay… this isn’t a therapy session,” he bitches right back.  

“Sorry, but that was really big of you.  I was impressed.  It made me love you more,” Lizzy smiles at him with adoration.  

“Ugh, stop,” Dean complains more, gripping his stomach and hunching over a bit.  “My stomach is already sick enough.”

“Glutton,” Lizzy comments quietly.  “And… I know this whole relationship I have with a vampire is hard to swallow.  And I know that if I were you, if you were friends with a vamp… I wouldn’t be very trusting either.  Not that I wouldn’t trust you, but I wouldn’t trust him.  I get your perspective and I should have been a little more… patient.  And understanding.”  She takes a deep breath and huffs out some stubbornness.  “And you were right.  Benny ended up killing someone.  He won’t do it again, because I cut ties and I won’t fuck up his affairs and put him in that position again.  I… was supposed to help him and… Fuck.  Just… fuck.”

Dean takes a moment to look over at Lizzy.  She’s shaking her head, brow lowered with concern and massive amounts of guilt.

“You’re not taking this okay,” Dean says with certainty.

“I put blood on his hands,” Lizzy gets a little choked up.  “Benny was clean.  He never killed.  He fights his natural drive every day… it’s so hard for him to live like that but he does it because he wanted to go legit and he promised me he would.  He did that for me and… he had to kill because of me.”

“Don’t do that crap,” Dean cuts her off.  “Lizzy, we put the wrong guy on Benny.  It was me and Sam.  Don’t blame yourself for that.”

“But I could have….”

“You always do the could-have game.  I always tell you to stop.  Does Benny blame you?”

“I don’t think so.  No.”

“Then shut up about it.  He’s in the wind.  Shit we can’t change happened.  You’re done with him.  All of it… it’s over.  Don’t over think what will end up making you go just as nuts as Martin is.  Was.  Ugh, my stomach….”

The slip up doesn’t make her feel all that great, but she feels better.  Dean’s been trying to make her calm down, stop the over-thinking, and let go of the shit she can’t do anything to change.  It’s been very helpful.  She’s never had someone try and help her like that.  The year she was gone did Dean some good.  He truly grew up and is becoming the man he was always meant to be.

A man that overeats at a pie bar at 9:00 am and regrets it while whining like a child.

“Are we okay?” Lizzy has to ask, locking eyes with him quickly before watching the road again.  “Like, can we get past this?  Can you accept that I’m linked to a vampire because I can accept that you had a moment where you didn’t trust me… even if it was well-intentioned because you wanted me to be safe.”

“If you promise to not say the word pie until we pull into the driveway… then yes.  I can put it behind us.”

Lizzy smiles and reaches across the seat, rubbing his very full belly.  “Poor baby.”

“Ugh, hurts so much,” Dean just lets her sooth him as he whines even more.  

“You’re insane,” she gets a good laugh at him, all the while never stopping rubbing his stomach.

“Just get us home,” he tells her with a short tone.  “And keep doing that.”

“Home.  I can’t wait to get home,” Lizzy says to him with excitement.  “I missed my little man.”

“Me too,” Dean admits, driving on.  “And I missed our bed.”

“Yes!” Lizzy agrees hard.  “I missed being home.”

Dean glances at her, a smile threatening his face.  “You did?”

“Yeah,” Lizzy smiles, moving over in the bench seat to be closer.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know,” Dean starts.  “You kinda… weren’t exactly comfortable at our house at first.”

“I was adjusting from Purgatory,” Lizzy reminds him.

“I know that, but… I just… it’s good to hear you say home.  And that you want to be there.”

Lizzy smiles and lays down across the front seat, her head in his lap.

“Hey now,” Dean jokes with excitement when her face is so close to his crotch.  “Am I getting lucky?”

“Oh, so lucky,” Lizzy slickly returns, reaching under his shirt.

“Oh, god… yeah,” Dean groans when she starts rubbing his stomach skin to skin.  “That’s so… good.”

Lizzy laughs at his pornographic sounds as she innocently rubs his overstuffed stomach.  “You can’t eat like this anymore, Hot Shot.  You’re not a kid anymore.”

“ _ _You’re__ not a kid anymore,” he returns with, acting very much like a kid.  

“I’m serious,” Lizzy ignores his lame line.  “You’re gonna get a gut.”

“No I’m not,” Dean denies hardily right away.

“Honestly… you already kinda do,” she giggles at him.

“What!?” Dean gets offended instantly.

“Dude, you didn’t hunt for a whole year.  You never work out.  You drink and eat all the time… and you’re getting older.  Metabolism can only take you so far.”

“Did you just call me fat!?” Dean asks with appalled anger.

“No!” she keeps giggling.  “Just… chubby.”

“What the fuck!?” Dean gets outright mad, trying to pull her hand away from his stomach.

“Oh, stop!” Lizzy says while pressing her hand to his skin again.  “Your dad bod is cute!”

“I’m not cute!  What the hell is a dad bod!?” Dean looks down with pure fear and insult written into his expression.  

“It’s a dad body.  You know, like how dads don’t have time to work out and let themselves go a little bit.”

“I’m not letting myself go!”

“Dude, I take it all back,” Lizzy tries to calm him and lifts his shirt up a little.  She kisses his tummy and drops her head back into his lap while once more rubbing.  “I love your body.  I wasn’t complaining.”

“Then why say it?” Dean bitches grumpily.

“I don’t know,” Lizzy shrugs.  “Just being honest.  Isn’t that what we do with each other these days?  Be honest?”

Dean wants to fight back but he can’t.  She has a good point.  “I’m still hot.”

“The hottest man I’ve ever seen,” she smiles and shuts her eyes, settling in.  “I’m more than lucky to get to fuck you whenever I want.”

“Damn straight,” Dean tries for confidence but fails.  “You going to sleep?”

“Yeah.  Head hurts still.”

“Need more pills?”

“No.  Just get me to Cass.”

Dean nods and keeps driving.  His head is still running her words over and over again.  “Seriously though… still hot?”

“Baby, I have to beat them off with a stick daily.  You’re smoking hot and you’re all mine.”

Dean smirks to himself and lets her sleep, knowing she’s being truthful.  He knows, even if he gained a hundred pounds, she wouldn’t go anywhere or be less attracted to him.  He’s got himself a good one.  

Looking down at Lizzy’s form, already asleep with her injury, he evaluates her body.  She’s incredible still.  The pregnancy, the injuries, the wear and tear… she’s better looking now than ever.  He’s never wanted her more than now.  How did she do that?

Right.   Purgatory.

And then he peers at her hand, now still but remaining on his stomach.  He gently pull her hand out of his shirt and places it by her side.  

Shit.  He’s got dad bod.

 

* * *

 

 

“You sure you’re good?” Lou asks for the hundredth time, fixing the pullout sofa in the living room once more as Derek is already laying in it.

“Louie!  Go to bed!  Leave me alone!” Derek finally shouts, having dealt with this crap since they arrived at the house.  

“Sorry!” Lou gives up with frustration.  “Just trying to make sure you’re fine.  I mean, you just gave up your life and now here you are, sleeping on a shit excuse for a mattress in the middle of a living room littered with Matchbox cars.”

Derek sits up and stares her down.  “I’m fine.  I’m happy to be here.  This mattress sucks but I’ll live and you need to get some sleep.  Go to bed.  I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” Lou just shakes her head.  “You’re still so fucking difficult.”

“Bite me, sis,” Derek grins.

“See you tomorrow, ass face,” Lou smiles back and walks out of the room, but not before throwing a pillow and hitting her little brother in the face.

“You suck!” Derek yells to her as she climbs the stairs.

“You suck more!”

Derek grins wide.  He missed that.  He missed his sister terribly.  And he’s so excited and grateful to have her back.  The situation is beyond fucked, her life is scary, he just jumped off a ledge and left everything he knew behind… and he’s never been more excited.

He has a nephew.  He has his half-sister on her way to see him.  He has an instant family now, one he thought he’d lost forever, one he thought was dead and gone until recently.  

Even now, even with the truth spelled out and the world caving in on him… he’s happier than he’s been in a long time.

“You seem to be in good spirits.”

“Shit!” Derek shouts as a voice cuts through the silence in the room.  He whips his head to the recliner and sees Castiel sitting there.  “What the fuck!?  Where did you come from?”

“I see you share a similar vocabulary with your sisters,” Castiel comments, looking at Derek with seriousness.  

“I do when people creep up on me like that.  The hell did you come from?”

“I was always here.  I just chose to not allow you to see me until now,” Castiel explains plainly.  “And I am not people.”

“I’m getting that,” Derek tells him.  They sit there for a moment, the silence awkward.  “I’m gonna go to sleep now.”

“Alright,” Castiel nods and settles into the recliner, his eyes staring off at the opposite wall.  He doesn’t move.

Derek quickly gets weirded out.  “You just gonna sit there?”

“I usual do, yes,” Castiel answers.  “I remain invisible most nights, to not make people uncomfortable.  Dean tells me it can be off-putting at times.”

“Really?” Derek sarcastically replies.

“Yes.”

“Would never have guessed,” Derek tells him insincerely.  “Cass, would you mind finding somewhere else to stare off into the distance for the night?  I’ve never really slept in the same house as a nonhuman, so….”

“Say no more,” Castiel answers, standing up.  “I understand.  I will seek solace elsewhere.”

“I appreciate that.  I don’t want to put you out or anything….”

“No.  I should probably be finding my independence once more, going out on my own again.  It’s been… difficult since I returned from Purgatory.  I’ve possibly grown too attached to this place.”

“I can see that being a problem,” Derek nods, going with it.  He’s been given too much information in the past day to iron out what Castiel’s issues might be at this point.

“I’ll leave you now.  Have a good night,” Castiel nods once and with a flap of wings and a breeze blowing through the room, Castiel vanishes.

Derek jumps a little.  “Fucking… what the hell!?” he freaks out a little with the display.

A deep breath in, hands running through his hair, Derek lets the moment go.  He has to let these types of things roll off his back now.  He has to… if he’s going to assimilate.  And become a real part of this family.  

And become a hunter.

Derek lays down, pulls the blankets over him and starts making inventory of what he needs to accomplish.  He needs to work out harder.  Like, Sam harder.  Whatever the hell that guy is doing is working.  And he needs to learn how to fight.  And shoot a gun.  And load a gun.  And probably learn about all the monsters and whatnot out there, how to kill them.  And he needs to know how to use weapons, like a knife.  And Sam mentioned something about salt, he should probably ask about that….  And… demons are real.  And after… his sister….

Derek falls asleep mid-thought.  He’s exhausted.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience. I adore you all! So much more to come for this story!


	9. Full House

Pulling into the driveway at six in the morning, Dean turns off the engine and sighs.  Long night.

But it’s over.  They both made mistakes.  They talked it out.  Now he just need to tell Sam about Martin and try to make sure he doesn’t freak out about it and get too mad.  Yeah… right….

Quietly as he can, Dean gets out of the Impala and heads for the house.  He unlocks the door and peeks in, expecting to see Cass sitting in his chair he’s always in overnight.  Instead, he sees an empty chair and a stranger on the pullout couch fast asleep.

He has a moment of panic, not comfortable with a person he doesn’t know in his house with his son there, but then he remembers the text conversation he had with Sam the day before.  That must be Derek.

“Cass?” Dean whispers out into the house, not looking to wake the house guess.  Nothing.  “Cass!?”

“Dean.”

He jumps and spins around sharply.  Castiel is standing behind him, just a few inches away.

“Shit!” Dean bitches and shuts the front door without a sound.  He takes the usual half a step back from the angel to speak to him more comfortably.  “Hey, Buddy.  Where’d you come from?”

“The roof.  Derek wanted to sleep alone in the living room,” Castiel explains.  He looks out to the horizon across the street.  “I planned to watch the sunrise.  I haven’t done that in far too long.  It’s a shame really.”

“You mind healing Lizzy instead?”

“Not at all,” Castiel responds and follows Dean to the passenger side of the car.  Looking inside, he sees Lizzy laying across the front seat, her legs drawn in as she’s still deeply asleep.  Opening the door, Castiel presses a hand to her head to read her injuries.  “She’s concussed.”

“Hard,” Dean nods.

“And she’s getting a cold,” Castiel comments as a light glows from his palm and presses to her head.  Soon enough, the glow stops and it’s done.  “She’s fine now.”

“Cass, you’re a lifesaver,” Dean tells him, clapping him in the shoulder.

“On occasion.”

“So, how’d Sammy do?” Dean asks, eyes lighting up with the mention of his boy.  “He behave?”

“Yes, of course,” Castiel nods.  “He’s a good child.”

“Yeah.  He is,” Dean grins with pride.  “So, seriously, he didn’t give you a hard time about anything?  Not even food?”

“Well, he likes pizza a lot,” Castiel informs him.  “He mostly survived off of cheese pizza the whole time you were gone.”

Dean blinks once.  “You only fed him pizza?”

“It’s the only thing he asked for,” Castiel returns with, as if this would be news to Dean.  “Well, aside from chicken nuggets the first night.  I had never cooked chicken nuggets before and, well… it didn’t go all that well.”

Dean blinks once and then asks, “How did you manage to mess up precooked, frozen chicken nuggets?”

“They turned black.”

“You burnt them,” Dean corrects.

“Yes.”

“So, your answer to that was to order pizza the whole weekend?”

“Yes… but he had cereal for breakfast each day.  And ice cream after the park to make up for my mistake.”

Dean washes a hand down his face with the building headache.  “What mistake?”

“Oh, well, Samuel’s friend Megan showed up at the park and their play date ended up being cut short when her mother rushed home once she deemed me inappropriate.”

“I’m guessing you spoke to her?  Megan’s mom?” Dean is getting a picture.

“Yes,” Castiel answer with delight.  “It was a lovely conversation until she ran off.  In fact, I think she was possibly being flirtatious with me.”  Castiel smiles awkwardly and bumps Dean with his elbow.

This has Dean grinning widely with the surprising information.  “Oh, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“You dog,” Dean laughs.  “And now I know why Megan’s mom probably ran off.”

“Why?”

“Cass, dude… you don’t know how to talk to women,” Dean gives him the truth with a clap on the back.  

“I speak to women all the time,” Castiel reminds him.  “Some on a daily basis.”

“Very true, but you don’t know how to __flirt__ with women.  You probably said something that she took wrong and it freaked her out.”

“Yes,” Castiel nods with his eyes aimed at the ground.  “I have a feeling you’re right about that.”

“Hey, I’ve been there,” Dean jokes, leaning down to wake Lizzy up.  “Just consider yourself lucky you didn’t get slapped.”  He reaches out and touches Lizzy’s shoulder.  “L?  L, wake up.”

Lizzy moves a little in her sleep and her eyes open slowly.  Looking out the passenger side door to see Dean shaking her leg to wake her, she asks, “Hm?  We home?”

“Yeah.  And Cass already healed you.  Come on out.”

With her hand clasped in his, Dean helps Lizzy out of the car.  She blinks with the rising sun and looks at the angel.  “Hey, Cass.  Thanks for healing me up… again.”

“You know it’s my pleasure.”  He nods with a small yet fond grin.

“How was Sammy for you?”

“Very good.  And exhausting.”

“Sounds about right,” Lizzy grins wide.  She squints a little and looks to the house, the whole structure still and quiet before the sun comes up.  “Everyone’s asleep?”

“Yes.  Samuel has probably another hour,” Castiel answers with ease, knowing the child so well after their time together.

“Well, okay,” Lizzy grins, impressed.  She then crosses her arms over her chest and glances at the house once more before asking, “Is Derek here still?”

“Asleep on the couch.”

Her eyes find the angel’s.  “Is he… mad at me?”

“For what?”

“For, I don’t know, taking his sister away from him right after they lost their parents?” she wonders aloud the thing that’s worried her for a near decade.  “For getting his parents killed in the first place?  For Lou choosing me over him?”

Castiel’s head tilts and his face softens just a touch.  “I don’t think he views the situation like you do.  At all.  I think, more than anything, he’s quite happy to be here.  With his sisters.  And his new family.”

Lizzy bites her lip and lets her eyes wander to the front door with concern.  “You sure about that?”

“Very much so.  In fact, I think it would be best if you went in there now, talked to him before everyone else gets up,” Castiel explains.  “From what I saw of him yesterday, he’s very receptive to the idea of a reunion.”

Lizzy pauses, delaying the inevitable.  Dean can see the concern and anxiety building quickly in her.  He places a hand on her shoulder.  “Want me to come?”

“No,” Lizzy immediately answers him.  “I’ll be… not fine.  But it’s Derek, you know?  He’s family.  I need to do this.”

Dean leans down and gives her a quick kiss before she heads towards the house.  From her body language alone, he can tell she’s nervous.  He just hopes it goes well.

Once the front door is closed, Lizzy in the house, Dean leans back against his car and looks at Castiel.  They need to stall and give Derek and Lizzy some time.  “So, you ate pizza and went to the park to piss off single moms.  Anything else good happen?”

Castiel turns to face his friend and he sighs.  “Not really.”

“That’s good.  Sammy can be difficult in his own way.  Glad he took it easy on you.”

“Yes, well…” Castiel trails off, his mind elsewhere as he thinks about the past few days.   He then narrows his eyes at Dean.  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

Dean’s back straightens with the unexpected question.  “Uh… I guess so.”

“Do you think it’s smart to leave your sexual implements in a drawer that’s fully accessible to your two year old son?”

Eyes wide with shock, Dean stays silent for a beat.  Then he tries to speak.  “I… you just… um, what?”

“Samuel showed me a drawer in your bedroom that contained… inappropriate items for him to be seeing.”

“Cass, every couple has a sex drawer, okay?” Dean explains easily, playing it off like this isn’t uncomfortable at all.  “It’s not a big deal.”

“I feel you should hide your… things better.”

“Maybe you're right about that,” Dean relents easily, knowing Sammy’s found that drawer before.  “And I’ll tell L we need to move it.  But it’s not like it’s shameful.”

“How would you feel if when you were a child you found a drawer filled with phallic objects and sexually revealing costuming that was linked to your own mother and father.”

Dean’s face scrunches in disgust.  The light bulb goes off.  “Fair enough.  We’ll be moving the drawer.”

“Thank you,” Castiel nods slightly, happy to get Dean to agree to something he thought necessary.  “Can I ask something else?”

“Not without scaring me,” Dean jokes.

“Why was there a Zorro mask in with the things you like to incorporate during sexual play?” Castiel wonders, the mystery having been something he’s pondered for days.  “I get the maid outfit.  And the school girl outfit….”

“You get a warrant for that search, Cass?” Dean asks, uncomfortable with how much Castiel found and paid attention to.

“I know I’m not all that well-versed in human mating rituals, but what I saw I can manage to figure out.  But the Zorro mask….”

“Don’t think to hard on it, buddy,” Dean stands tall and pats Castiel on the back before heading to the trunk to grab their bags.  “Sexuality is a complicated, mysterious thing.  I don’t know why I like to wear a Zorro mask while L rides me and slaps me in the face while I come.  Honestly, I’m not sure I want to know why I like it.  But I know I like it.”  Dean shrugs and opens the trunk.

“Is that why you also had videos of Japanese cartoon women being penetrated by tentacle monsters?”

Deans’ head pops up over the open trunk to stare at Castiel with horror.  “How did you find that!?”

“Samuel did,” Castiel answers simply.  “In the back of your closet behind several boxes.”

“First of all, no more letting my kid rummage through my room,” Dean spells out the new rules.  “And second of all… yeah, I have no idea why I like that either.”

“But you know you do?” Castiel pries on.

“Oh, yeah,” Dean nods wholeheartedly.

“Hm… well then, I guess sex is much like all other human behaviors.  As long as you aren’t hurting others, then do what you like.”

Dean snaps and points at his friend.  “Exactly.”

Castiel nods and looks down at the ground, his mind whirling with thoughts.

Dean keeps unpacking bags, setting aside the one weapon filled bag to be unloaded in the back of the shed that’s triple locked in the backyard.  The weapons never go into the house.

“Can ask one more thing?” Castiel suddenly speaks up.

“I already told you too much, so what the hell.  Shoot,” Dean rolls his eyes, hefting the weapon bag over his should and starts walking for the backyard, Castiel following close behind.

“You had hunting equipment in that drawer.”

“Huh?” Dean questions, confused.

“Rope, handcuffs… I think I saw a roll of tape….”

“Ah,” Dean nods, a smile on his face with the images that come to mind right away.  “You know what?  Why don’t you ask L about those items.”

“Elizabeth?” Castiel wonders with surprise.  

“She ain’t all that innocent, Cass.  And she likes her own things when it comes to sex.”

“Oh…” Castiel trails off, having assumed most of that drawer was about Dean as he’s never been shy about his proclivities for sex and adventure.  “But those are restraining items.”

“Yes…” Dean gets a faraway look in his eyes as his mind wanders.  “They are.”

Castiel pauses and looks to Dean with a curious and horrified face, not getting what it is Dean is doing to his most beloved human.

When Castiel doesn’t follow, Dean stops and turns back to look at his concerned face.  “Dude, relax.  I would never do anything to L she wouldn’t want me to do.  Trust me on that.  Lizzy just… she used to think being restrained was great.  Then hunting happened and it made her too nervous to enjoy.  Now… well, she trusts me.  And I give her what she wants.”

“Which is being restrained during sex?” Castiel asks, shocked.

“Yeah.  Oh, yeah,” Dean exaggerates, already itching to use said items with the conversation they’ve had.  

“Human sexuality is very complicated.”

“You said it, man,” Dean laughs and keeps walking, Castiel following.  As they go, his face drops when something important dawns on him.  “Hey, uh… can we keep the anime porn a secret between us… and Sammy?”

“Anime porn?” Castiel asks.

“The tentacles….”

“Ah, yes,” Castiel nods, understanding.  He stops with Dean when they reach the shed and Dean uses a few keys on his key ring to open the three locks on it.  “Elizabeth does not know about the tentacles?”

“Um… no,” Dean simply says, shaking his head and walking into the shed, hoping to end the conversation right then and there.  

“I thought you told Elizabeth everything?” Castiel asks, still following.  “That you trust her.”

Dean sighs and closes his eyes a second.  “Almost everything.  Like, ninety-nine percent of everything.”

“Except this one thing?”

“Except this one thing,” Dean echoes.  When Castiel stares at him, waiting for further explanation, Dean sighs again.  “It’s embarrassing, okay?  I just never told her about the weird anime stuff.  So, if we can keep that between us?”

Thinking quickly, all while staring Dean down, Castiel simply says, “She’d make fun of you mercilessly.”

“In a heart beat,” Dean drops his shoulder, feeling better that Castiel gets it.

“Your secret will remain safe with me then,” Castiel vows.  “I know she can be relentless when she finds a personal detail overly humerus.  It isn’t fun.”

“No it’s fucking not,” Dean emphatically agrees.  “Thanks, man.”

Castiel just nods once more and they put the weapons and supplies away in the shed where they both know Sammy will be safe from them.

“You know, Cass, you could always give it a go,” Dean suggests after a moment of silence between them.

Head tilted, the angel scrunches his face and asks, “Watching tentacle porn?”

“No,” Dean shakes his head with a laugh.  “I was talking about sex.  You could, you know… try it.”

Silence hits again as Castiel doesn’t know what to say.  The thought is terrifying.  “We tried that before.”

“I know…”

“At that brothel,” He reminds his friend.  “You tried to force me to have sex with that prostitute….”

“Come on,” Dean interrupts.  “Forced?”

“Yes.”

“I highly urged you to give it a go,” Dean corrects him as he locks the shed up again.  “I never said you __had__ to.”

“I was uncomfortable,” Castiel clarifies.  “This is a human activity and I am not human.”

“So what?” Dean shrugs.  “Wasn’t your brother, Gabriel, banging chicks left and right?”

“Gabriel is… complicated,” Castiel leave it at that because explaining that particular angel is nearly impossible.  

“Yeah, but he was having sex with women and enjoying life,” Dean points out.  “All I’m saying is, the rule book is gone.  We kinda tossed that out ourselves when we took a steaming crap on Revelation, okay?  You’re free do whatever… and whoever… you want.  And this last conversation makes me think you’re curious about sex.”

“I’m curious about a lot of things concerning humanity… particularly since my closest kin are humans,” Castiel easily explains.

Dean’s hit in the heart by this.  “Well, as your closest kin, I say do whatever you want.  Just think about it, huh?”

Castiel’s eyes focus off in the distance, brain deep in thought.

“Come on,” Dean nods his head to the back sliding door of the house.  “Sammy will be up soon.  Help me make pancakes.”

Castiel’s hands fly from his sides with relief.  “Finally.  How _do_ you make pancakes!?  Samuel’s been asking all week for them!”

 

* * *

 

 

After quietly creeping into the house, Lizzy found Derek asleep on the pullout couch.  She walked over to him, sat on the coffee table, and watching him in his sleep for a moment as her nerves took over the second she got a good look at the young man.  He looks the same as ever, just older.  Same sandy brown hair, still cut short yet now more stylishly even after being messed up in the night, and he still has those freckles that only show up after time in the sun.  Lizzy has those too.  She now knows they are hereditary.  

Lizzy last saw Derek when he was mid-puberty.  That gangly dork was just painful, always clumsy.  And he was in the closet then.  She remembers clearly knowing, just from always being around him and observing him, that Derek was gay.  He never acted in any obvious way, the stereotypes not fitting him at all, but his eyes never really landed on the hot women around him.  They always landed on the cute boys.

She hopes he’s out now.  She hopes he’s been healthy and happy.

Well, happy until now.

Now he’s in the fold and Lizzy has to carry the weight of yet another person she loves being involved in a very scary world all because of her fate.  

With a deep breath, Lizzy reaches out and touches his shoulder through his blanket, shaking lightly.  Time to get this over with.

Derek inhales sharply, his eyes opening slightly.  

“Derek?” Lizzy calls out his name very softly, not looking to startle him awake too badly.

“Hm?  What?” he asks, shaking his head and darting his sight around.  His eyes stop the second they land on Lizzy.  “Lizard?”

“Hey, kid,” Lizzy half smiles as her stomach flips with nerves.  She’s prepared for anything.  Yelling, anger, even violence.  She’s ready to duck if items get hurled.

But nothing like that happens.  Instead, Derek’s eyes soften as he sits up.  “Lizard.  Oh, my god!”  He scrambles to the edge of the pullout mattress before leaning forward towards her.  Arms out, he grabs her hard in a tight hug.

Lizzy freezes with the arms around her.  Shocked, she doesn’t know what to do at first.  This is the opposite of what she’d assumed.

Hands tentatively on his back, Lizzy starts to hug back after a moment.  

“I missed you,” Derek half-laughs, half-cries in confession.

“What!?” Lizzy huffs with disbelief.  “I thought you were gonna kill me!”

“Kill you!?” Derek asks, letting the hug end but instead grabbing her shoulders.  “Why!?”

“I stole your sister,” Lizzy breaks down the second she’s eye to eye with him.  “I got your parents killed and then… Lou came with me instead of stay with you.  I got her killed.  Derek, I’m so sorry….”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Derek laughs at her.

“Yes!”

“Jesus, you really gotta relax, Lizzy,” Derek smiles.  “I’m not mad at you.”

“You wouldn’t talk to me for years!” Lizzy accuses, hating how he’s taking everything so lightly after she’s beat herself up for years over this.

“I wasn’t… aware,” Derek explains.  “But I think having a demon follow my ass and then spill state secrets about my sister and the husband I didn’t know she had right before I watch my very first exorcism… I think that shit changed my mind.”

“Wait…” Lizzy interrupts.  “States secrets?”

“Louie will fill you in when she’s up,” Derek assures.  “She’s been dying for you to get back.  She’s got a lot to hash out with you but I think it’ll help if we sort our crap first.”

“Fair enough,” Lizzy says, a brand new boulder of dread in her gut that she’ll have to deal with later.  “Look, I know you are mad, or you were for years.  And honestly, you should have been.  I’m really sorry I took Louie from you.  And Jane and Brian….”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Derek gets very serious.  “You loved them, too.  Just like I loved Cathy and Paul.  Our parents didn’t deserve what happened to them but none of it was your fault.  None.”

“I’ve never truly believed that,” Lizzy wipes her eyes.  

“You need to start to.”

“Maybe,” she nods.  

“And… I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you forever,” Derek keeps going.  “I love you, Lizzy.  I may have sucked at showing you, but still.  You’re the sister I never wanted.”

“Thanks,” Lizzy rolls her eyes.

“I’m serious.  The past couple days have been eye opening and…” Derek stops.  The front door opens and puts a halt to their conversation.

“Everyone good in here?” Dean asks as he pops just his head in.

“We’re good,” Lizzy nods, wiping her eyes one more time before standing up.  “Dean, meet my half-brother Derek.”

Derek stands up as Dean enters the room, bags over his shoulder and trench-coated angel in tow.  Watching as the stunning yet perfectly gruff man drops the luggage and heads his way, Derek smiles slickly to himself.

“Hey, Derek,” Dean grins, looking to be friendly.  “Nice to finally meet you.”

Derek eagerly takes his hand and shakes it, eyes glancing at Lizzy and giving her the silent you-go-girl.  She gives a warning look in return.  His eyes return to Dean and smiles wider.  “Dean, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you.”

“Well, any family of L’s…” Dean trails off.

“Mm,” Derek hums, impressed.  “I was warned about you.”

“Warned?” Dean asks, eyes wide.

“Yes, you.  You’re just my type,” Derek breaks out into a massive smile as he watches Dean become uncomfortable within the sudden scrutiny.

“I… um…”

“My god, you look strong,” Derek mentions, running his hands down Dean’s shoulders and upper arms as he just stands there, unsure.  “And you have the most stunning eyes, Dean.”

“Uh… thanks,” Dean says taking a step back.  He looks to Lizzy for help but he finds that his wife is doing everything she can to hold in her laugh.

“Okay,” Lizzy bursts and giggles out.  “Go easy, Derek.  And I guess you’re out now.”

“And proud of it,” he winks at Dean.

“Good,” Lizzy continues to laugh.  

“You did alright, Lizard.  I approve.”

“No shit,” she rolls her eyes and then looks to the stairs when she hears small feet making their way down from the second floor.  

“Mommy!”

“Baby!” Lizzy shouts right back and rushes across the room to her son the second she sees him.  She scoops him up as he hugs her around the neck hard.  He’s grinning wide with honest excitement.  Lizzy squeezes him harder than she probably should.  “Oh, I missed you so much!”

“I miss you too, mommy,” he tells her very truthfully, his little arms squeezing back just as hard.

“Were you a good boy for Cassie?” she asks him, pulling him onto her hip to talk to him.

“Yes!  We had fun and ate pizza and went to the park and then I meeted Derek.  Auntie Louie says he’s my Uncle just like Uncle Sam.”

“He is!” she agrees right away.  

“Mornin’ kid!” Derek greets and waves from next to the couch.  

“Hi, Uncle Derek,” he smiles, eyes landing on his father standing next to him.  “Daddy!”

“Sammy!” Dean yells right back and rushes right over to him, stealing him from Lizzy.  “How’s it going, dude?”

“Good, daddy!  We have pancakes?”

“You hungry?” Dean asks.

“Yeah!”

“Okay, let’s do it!”

Without another second of prompting, Dean marches right for the kitchen.  He forgoes the bags on the floor and the new family member in the living room.  He hasn’t seen his boy in days and it’s been shitty since he left.  Fuck everything.  It’s time for pancakes with his dude.  Castiel quickly follows, ready to see what the fuss is all about.

“Kinda whipped, ain’t he?” asks Derek, eyes following Dean.  

“You should see what a fucking puppy he is for me,” Lizzy smirks.  “And, uh… lay off my husband, alright?”

“Why would I!?” Derek gets mad at the suggestion.

“Because he’s mine!” she laughs and shoves Derek in the shoulder.  “He’s my soul mate.”

“Maybe he needs a male soul mate, too.”  Her shrugs and grins mischievously.  

“I don’t share,” she warns fairly and pulls him arm towards the kitchen.  “Come on.  Dean’s pretty good at making breakfast.”

“Of course, he cooks too,” Derek feigns upset at his loss and allows himself to be dragged to a decent homemade meal.  "Does he wear a cute little apron? Because I think he would look good in one...."


	10. A Curveball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little less time between updates. Hooray! For anyone still following this series, and it isn't many, THANK YOU!

 

* * *

With a hefty sigh, Dean drops his head down with closed eyes.  His shoulders slump, elbows propped on his knees as he sits on the couch in their living room next to Lizzy.  After the explanation they just sat through, one that contains Lou and Sam’s Boston trip along with all they learned about themselves while gone, they’re both silent.

Hand pressed to her mouth, Lizzy fights not to cry.  Once more, fate is after them.  It never ends.  It’ll never end.  

“I wish I could say we’re surprised,” Sam sadly adds in, his eyes always sliding over to his wife after they ran through it all.  He’s very worried about her.  She’s been quiet.  And really, she’s just shut down about it.  He’s dying to know where her head is but she’s not speaking about it past the facts.

“Still sucks,” Lizzy quietly says, her eyes glued to Lou.

“It does,” Sam nods, his hand clamping down on Lou’s knee.

“But hey, I married a Winchester so I was super fucked already, right?” Lou half laughs as her fake smile never reaches her eyes.

“I’m so… sorry….”

“Nah,” Lou cuts Sam off.  “Come on.  I would’ve married you no matter what.  Plus, it’s not like I…  _wanted_ kids or anything.  Right?”

Sam’s brow wrinkles with the way she says it.  He knows her well.  She’s lying.  She’s always denied wanting to be a mom but now Sam wonders if she wasn’t totally truthful with him.

“So… what?  Vasectomy time?” Dean asks suddenly after having been very quiet through the whole conversation so far.

Sam’s face changes to fearful and grossed out very quickly.

“Why bother?” Lou laughs.  “They aren’t 100-percent effective anyways.  If fate wants this… it’ll get it.”

“But you don’t want it,” Lizzy reminds.  “And you’ve been careful, right?”

“Always,” Sam nods sharply.  

Lou keeps suspiciously quiet.

Lizzy narrows her eyes at her and waits to make eye contact.  Lou never looks at her.  Instead of wait, since she knows how stubborn Lou can be, Lizzy turns to Castiel as he stands to the side of the couch with arms crossed and a very concerned face.  “Well, Cassie.  You got anything?  Heard of this?”

“Not once,” Castiel admits, arms dropping to his side.  “I was never made aware of everything Heaven had been privy to concerning Samuel and another, more evil Second Coming.  Then again, I never had that kind of clearance.”  He thinks for a moment.  “The demon could have been telling the truth.  I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Ugh!” Lou groans overly exaggerated.  “We have to summon Crowley, don’t we?”

“I can do it,” Sam assures.  “You don’t need to be there.”

“No, I do,” Lou complains.  “That limey little shit loves me.  If he’ll tell anyone, it’ll be me.”

“She’s totally right,” Dean agrees quickly.  “Crowley isn’t exactly as secretive as he thinks he is.  He digs Lou.”

Sam shivers with the thought.  

“When do we do this?” Lizzy questions.

“Tomorrow,” Lou jumps in quickly.  “Sam and I can do it at the bar.  We’ll bring Cass for backup?” she asks him and the angel nods in the affirmative.  “You guys stay here.  No need to put every life in front of Hell’s king midget.”

“We can do it today,” Sam offers.  “We have everything to summon him and it might be good to just get it over with.”

“No,” Lou shakes her head.  “I’m not ready yet.  And I’m stealing Lizzy and getting outta here for a bit this afternoon.”

“You are?” Lizzy asks.

“Yep,” Lou nods.  Sam throws her a look of question.  “Girl time.  I need it.”

“Whatever,” Dean complains and stands up.  “I’m getting a beer.”

He disappears into the kitchen and Lou stands up.  “Alright.  Let’s go.”

“Now!?” Lizzy asks with surprise.  

“Yeah.  Sammy’s asleep for another hour at least.  Let’s just go drive around or something.  Grab a beer?”

Lizzy’s wide eyes of doubt stare at her from her spot on the couch.  What the fuck is going on with her?  “Sure.  Uh… let’s go.”

When Lizzy stands up to leave with Lou, she makes a pointed look at Sam.  He just shrugs and takes his phone out of his back pocket.  He shakes it in front of her and Lizzy nods.  They’ll text each other about whatever the hell is going on with Lou.  Deal.

 

 

The Mustang pulls up to and parks in front of the small mom and pop drug store on the main drag of Smith Center.  Such a small town, there’s no need for franchise stores.  Everything is local.

Lou turns off the engine and sits there, staring at the store front window and not moving.  And not moving.

And still not moving.

“Okayyyyy…” Lizzy starts, super confused.  Lou looks down at the keys in her hand and fiddles with them.  “I thought we were getting a beer….”

“I think I’m pregnant.”

Lou blurts it with no warning and never makes eye contact.  She keeps fiddling with her keys and ignoring that fact that her best friend is next to her.

“Uh… huh?” Lizzy asks with a very hesitant voice as she can’t have heard correctly.

“I’m five days late and you know I’m never late,” Lou keeps her voice small with fear.  “I kinda thought it was stress at first but it crossed my mind that I might be… right before we heard from Derek and had to leave.  I ignored it, got busy, and went to Boston.  Now….”  She sighs hard and gives up on the sentence.  “I still haven’t gotten my period.”

Eyes the size of golf balls, Lizzy’s heart thumps in her throat.  “Lou! Jesus Christ!”

Lou doesn’t answer.

“But you’re on the pill!”

“I missed a few….”

“ _What_!?” Lizzy shouts, fear hitting her hard. “What the fuck, Lou!?”

Lou’s eye close.  “I got comfortable.”

“You got fucking  _comfortable_!”

“I forgot a couple days in a row.  I fucked up and had sex before I realized.  I…  _really_ fucked up.”  She rubs her forehead with the headache building behind her eyes.

When Lou’s voice cracks at the end of the comment, something that never happens ever with Lou’s usually unflappable attitude, Lizzy knows this is no joke.  Her tone changes immediately after that.  This is real and with everything they’ve just learned about Sam and her fate, this is NOT GOOD.

“Well… um….” Lizzy tries to start but can’t find the words.  What is there to say?

“Oh, my fucking god,” Lou quietly says to herself as she lets her mind accept what might be happening.  

“Shit,” something dawns on Lizzy.  “You didn’t tell him yet, did you?”  Sam was calm enough today to make that fact clear.

Lou shakes her head.  “I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

Lou pauses.  “Didn’t know if it was true or not.  And now?”  She huffs a disgusted laugh.  “It’ll be evil.  How do I tell him with our fate just crammed in our faces like this?”

“Are you sure there is an  _it_ at all yet?” Lizzy wonders, trying to piece together why they are at a drug store at all.

“No.”

You haven’t taken a test yet?”

“Not yet.”

“And that’s why we’re here?”

Lou nods.

“Alright.  Stay put,” Lizzy tells her, getting out of the car and hustling into the store.  Lou needs her to be the one that holds it together, then she can do that.  

Time to buy some pregnancy tests.

It’s only perfect that her phone buzzes in her back pocket while she’s standing in front of a display of several different pregnancy tests.

“Shit,” Lizzy swears under her breath as she remembers that Sam was going to text her.  She checks and as she thought, it’s Sam.

_Is she okay?_

“Now I have to fucking lie to Sam too.  Great,” Lizzy mutters while typing back.

_She’s overwhelmed.  And super stressed out about all this.  I think she just needed time away to sort it all out.  We used to do this when we were younger too.  Girl time._

Sam almost immediately texts back.

_Good.  I’m glad she has you right now.  Guess she needed someone she could trust with this one._

Three boxes of tests in her hands, Lizzy rolls her eyes.  Sam’s insecurities are showing hard but she stuffs her phone back into her pocket and marches for the checkout.  “Sorry, Sam-I-Am.  One at a time.”

 

 

“Are you sure we should be doing this without Lou?” Castiel wonders, watching Sam place the needed items into the gold bowl on the workbench.

“Lou isn’t…  _Lou_ right now,” Sam says, diligently creating the spell in their back shed.  Though cramped, it was the best option they had.  “This whole thing has made her… I don’t know.  Shut down.  We need answers and she’s not ready for them.  At least this way, when she’s ready to hear it, I can tell her and she can avoid Crowley all together.”

Castiel nods with understanding.  “Do you think it wise we do this so close to your home, with Samuel here?” he lets his worries be known.

“I don’t think Crowley’s looking to cause trouble with us right now,” Sam comments.  “We haven’t seen him in… ages.  Plus, we have a devil’s trap ready and we salted the whole place.  He’s not getting out until we let him safely.”

“But still….”

“I checked with Dean.  He said it was okay.”

“Fine,” Castiel hesitantly agrees and lets Sam finish the spell.  He’d much prefer doing this far,  _far_ from Samuel, especially after the very quality time they’ve had.  He’s feeling more protective than ever of the young boy.

Bowl lit, the flash of light fills the room and the moment it dies, the King of Hell is standing in the middle of the devil’s trap.

Crowley sighs heavily with an overly exaggerated eye roll.  “I was in the middle of something important!”

“Well, we have something more important to talk to you about,” Sam responds with, his tone much more stern than just seconds ago.  

“More important than soul acquisition statistic analysis!?” Crowley yells at the hunter, irate.

San wrinkles his face with that response.  “What?”

“I was in a meeting,” Crowley grits out, simplifying it for the simpleton.

“Wow, I guess you guys real are like Wall Street,” Sam jokes lightly.

“No, we have integrity,” the demon corrects.  

“Look, I need to talk to you about Lou’s fate,” Sam lets him , needing to get down to it.

Crowley pauses, his face melting off the anger.  He straightens his maroon tie, stands a little taller, and asks him, “How is my dear Louise?  You are treating her like the queen that she is, yes?”

Sam’s face sours.  “The queen that she is!?  What is your deal with my wife, Crowley?”

“What is your deal with not seeing her as a queen?” Crowley simple turns it around.  

“Is it all true?” Castiel cuts into the brewing argument to keep everyone on task.  “That a child produced by Sam and Lou would be the true Antichrist?”

Crowley gives them a look of surprise but very unconvincingly responds with, “Whatever are you talking about?”

Sam’s anger drains and is replaced with that of pure disappointment when he can tell Crowley is lying.  He already knows.  “So, it’s true.”

Crowley shrugs and drops his arms heavily.  “What do you want me to say, moose?  That you’re little calf will be a bright, sunny young person that will make all good decisions and not try and take over the world in the name of Hell?”

“What do you mean, his little calf?” Castiel asks, stepping closer with a curious expression.  “You mean their theoretical child, if they were to have one.”  He then waits for Crowley’s response to it, getting a certain feeling about the whole thing.

“Yes,” Crowley quickly answers, correcting his slip.  “Theoretically, if Sam and Lou were to have a child… it would be pure evil.  The blood of a very powerful demon is still in his veins and Louise has a lot of Nephilim DNA.  I would have assumed you’d already have reservation about breeding due to those facts alone… that is if you ever took the time to think about it.”

Sam looks to the roof of the old shed, trying to compose himself.  He thought he’d accepted his childless life before, but now he has to truly, deep down make peace with the lack of hope he’s saddled with.  

He never fully came to terms with never being a father before now.  

“Okay,” Sam nods, swallowing thickly around the lump in his throat.  “That’s all we needed.”

“You seem a touch upset, Sam,” Crowley says with faux shock.  “Were you planning to be as sloppy and careless as that brother of your?  Pop out some next generation hunter and let yet another human be cursed right along with you?”

Sam clenches his jaw for a moment to compose himself.  “No, actually.  Lou and I had an agreement to never let another kid go through what we have.  So, before you get all excited about some new evil you can corrupt, don’t.  It’ll never happen.”  Sam looks away.  “Especially now.”

“Well, I’m just not buying it,” Crowley calls him out.  “You’re lying.”

“I’m not,” Sam tries to say with conviction, but fails.  “I… will never have kids.  Never.  And know that now.  For sure.”  He then drags the bottom of of his boot across the still wet paint of the devil’s trap, breaking it.  “Get out of here, Crowley.”

The demon looks hurt.  “That’s it?  Just the quick reach around?”

Sam rolls his eyes and sighs, no longer willing do deal with Crowley’s crap.  “Just go.”

“No spooning afterwards?  Seriously?”

“Leave, Crowley!” Castiel booms out, his sword dropping from his sleeve in threat.

“Fine.  I wasn’t looking for a fight when you two so rudely interrupted my meeting anyways.”  Crowley pauses a moment.  “Any chance you’d give me access to the prophet in exchange for this kind sharing of information?”

“No,” Sam gets angry instantly with the mention of Kevin.

“Always one sided with you Winchesters.  I give, and I give, and I give… and for what!?  So selfish.”  Crowley straightens his suit lapels and dusts off the invisible particles on his pocket square.  He then looks up at Sam and winks.  “Give our girl a kiss for me.  She’s going to  need it.”

He disappears.

Sam looks over to Castiel once the demon is gone.  “He’s getting weirder about Lou.”

“He is,” Castiel responds, his mind obviously far off and churning.  He has an odd gut feeling right now about Crowley not being so forthcoming.  And more so than usual.

“Should I be worried?” Sam asks, seeing that Castiel is in agreement.

“No,” Castiel assures.  “If need be, I can check up on his comings and goings.  I wouldn’t worry about Crowley right now. I’d worry about your wife.”

“She does seem a little messed up over this,” Sam nods.  “I didn’t expect that.”

“Lou is an unusually strong woman,” Castiel spells out what he sees.  “And so far she’s been tougher than most.  However… maybe this was the final straw, so to say.  Maybe… it was just too much.”

Sam’s face wrinkles as he thinks about it.  Castiel is right.  “Yeah.  She’s tough but… I know better.  Some things do actually crack her shell.”

“I’m assuming that discovering you are to birth the ultimate evil would crack every person’s shell.”

Sam nods.  “You’re probably right.”  He then picks up their supplies and starts cleaning the shed.  “I’ll give her a little more time.”

“And she’s currently with her sister.  I believe that will also be of assistance.”

“Yeah,” Sam’s tone lightens as he finds a little hope within the situation.  Lou will be alright.  She always is.  And Lizzy will help.  Lou has her family and support.  His wife will be fine.  Sam finishes cleaning and looks at Castiel.  “Let’s head in?”

“I’m right behind you,” Castiel nods and follows Sam out.  As he waits for Sam to triple lock the shed back up and head back inside, Castiel takes out his phone and sends one single text to Lizzy.

_Where are you right now?_

“Can you stop?” Lizzy asks as she watches Lou relentlessly pace up and down the barroom floor of the roadhouse she owns.  

Lou pauses mid-stride, shoots Lizzy one seriously icy look, and marches for the bar.  “Fuck off.”

“Fuck you,” Lizzy returns, checking the timer on her phone.  One more full minute left.

“I’m fucking nervous!” Lou shouts at her sibling as she gets behind the bar, grabs a bottle of Jack, and pours a shot.

“So, you’re going to drink?” Lizzy checks nervously.  “Right now?”

“Depending on what all three of those fuckers say….”  She nods to the three lined up pregnancy tests on a bar towel sitting on one of the round tables in the open bar.  “Absolutely.”

Lizzy’s phone buzzes.  She checks and sees that she has a message from Castiel.  

_Where are you right now?_

She answers back quickly.

_Lou’s bar.  Why?_

As soon as she sends the text off, her phone’s alarm sounds.

Both women freeze for a split second.  Lizzy stops the alarm and they just stare at each other.

“Well,  _I’m_ not looking,” Lou defiantly states, too scared to know.

Lizzy just rolls her eyes, stands up, and walks to the three tests.  All three say the very same thing.

“Well?” Lou asks, impatient.

“You’re with child.”

Jumping with the sudden scare, both women snap their focus to the angel suddenly in the center of the large room.

“You are, aren’t you?” Castiel asks, sure of it as he marches quickly to Lou.  He places two fingers on her forehead, closes his eyes, and checks her with his grace.

“Uh… well, if all three of these tests are right… yeah.  Lou’s pregnant,” Lizzy tells them both.

“Fuck!” Lou shouts with absolute, soul-deep fear.  

“Well, at least the child is healthy,” Castiel announces, taking his hand back.  

“Yeah, just healthy enough to fuck the whole world,” Lou’s voice cracks and she flops down on a bar stool.  She presses a hand over her eyes and closes them, forced to now confront the reality she’s in right now.  “Oh, god.”

The room grows silent for a moment.

“What the fuck am I gonna do?” Lou’s tight,crumbling voice ask from behind her hand.  

“We,” Lizzy corrects and heads over to her sister.  She grabs Lou’s hand and pushes it aside.  She then holds her face in both hands and makes Lou look at her.   “You aren’t alone.  We got this.  You, me, Sam….”

“He can’t know!” Lou blurts out in a panic, eye wide with true fear.  

“What?” Lizzy nearly laughs.  “That’s half his, you know?”

“That’s why!” Lou yells at her sister, shoving her away.  “If he knows he won’t let me do what I have to do!”

Lizzy’s frozen in place.  Her eyes slide to Castiel, his face equally confused, before returning to Lou.  The woman’s eyes are rimmed with threatening tears.  “Dude, what are you talking about?”

“I… I can’t have this kid,” Lou spells it out.  “I can’t.  It’ll… burn down the fucking world… and threaten Sammy’s life.  I can’t let that happen.  I… I, I can’t literally be the mother of evil.”

“So, you want to…?” Lizzy asks, letting the question hang in the air like that.  She can’t bring herself to say it.

“I… I have to, don’t I?” Lou wonders aloud, the tears falling with the pleading question.  “I mean, it’s evil, right?  How could I let this happen when I know what it could do?”

The bar grows silent.  No one knows how to answer her.  

“Fuck,” Lou quietly say to herself and gives into her emotions.  She actually cries.

“Alright, this is all super fresh,” Lizzy starts, taking Lou’s arm and guiding her to a chair at one of the tables.  “Sit down.  Take more than one minute to think things through without making any decisions.  Whatever happens, I’m with you, okay?  But for just right this second… sit with this.”

Lou plops into the chair and draws her knees in, hugging them into a ball.  She sighs and places her forehead on her knees.  The world is in her hands… womb… and it’s all on her.  No matter how she looks at it, there are no onesies or bottles or swaddles.  She sees the destruction and pain and misery that she alone could cause this world.  She can’t be happy or excited.  There just isn’t a way to be excited about this.  In order to do what’s right, she needs to focus.

“Elizabeth,” Castiel says sternly to grab her attention.  Once he has it, he nods to the front door and silently asks for a moment alone.  She nods.

“Louie, I’m gonna head outside for a second with Cass, okay?”  Lou gives her no answer at all.  Just stares at the ground.  “Tell me you’ll be fine.”

“I’m fine,” she lies, knowing the angel wants to speak with her.  He knows everything.  And Lizzy tells her everything.  She might as well let them talk alone.

“Okay,” Lizzy forces a smile, squeezes Lou’s shoulder, and heads outside with Castiel hot on her heels.

The second the front door shuts behind them, Castiel says with no uncertainty at all, “She cannot have this child.”

Eyes wide, Lizzy just says, “Dude!”

“It’s all true,” Castiel explains.  “Sam and I spoke with Crowley…”

“What!?  When!?” Lizzy nearly shouts.

“Just now.  In your back shed,” Castiel explains quickly.  “Sam needed answers and backup.  I went with him.  Crowley confirmed the story the demon told Lou and Sam in Boston.  That child  _is_ evil.  Pure and true.  And it will battle Samuel for the rights to humanity.  It has to die.”

“Fuck, Cass!” Lizzy complains, her throat tight with everything.  “What the fuck!?”

“I’m sorry, but the longer she waits on this….”

“The harder it’ll be, I know,” Lizzy nods solemnly.  She forces the lump in her throat down in order to focus.  “Shit.  This is gonna kill Sam.”

“Yes, but Sam understands necessity.  He will get it.”

“He won’t,” her chin quivers.  “Sam wants this.”

“He wants a child?” Castiel asks.

“Yes,” Lizzy presses a hand over her mouth for a moment.  “He… we talked a few months back, when I got back.  I hadn’t spent time with him, just us, in a long time.  I came here when Sam was covering a shift for Lou and we got a little drunk.  He told me he loves Lou more than anything… but he wished she wanted kids.  She doesn’t.  He does, even if it’d be stupid to have one with our lives.”

“I’m sure you can understand that fear.”

“No shit,” Lizzy nods.  “But he wants that so bad.  And with Sammy, he’s just so… and I never saw it coming, that he’d be that great with kids.  Sam, he should get to be a dad.  He should.”

“Elizabeth, he can’t.  Not with Lou, at least,” Castiel makes it clear as he usually does.  “This child will tear down the Earth, and Samuel with it, if it all goes to plan.”

Lizzy wipes her eyes and forces her emotions to stop.  She needs to be strong here.  She has to be.  “Okay.  So.  We deal with this.  I just hope Lou is….”

The bar door flies open and Lou marches out.  She aims for the Mustang, keys in hand.  “Lizzy, lock up.  We need to go.”

“Go… where?” Lizzy asks.

“Home,” Lou says.  “I have to call my doctor.”

“And talk to Sam?”

“No one says anything to Sam!” Lou turns and points sharply at both the human and angel standing in the lot out front.  “Not yet!  Or I kill you both!”  And then she drops into the car and starts it up, idling the engine as she waits.

Lizzy rolls her eyes and starts to head for the door, saying to Castiel over her shoulder, “Seriously, don’t say anything for now.”

“I won’t,” Castiel drops his arms to his sides, uncomfortable with the request but ready to follow it for his charge.

“Thank you!” Lizzy appreciates, knowing Castiel is always uncomfortable lying or keeping things from friends.  He’s done it before and it killed him to do so.  He swore he would never again but here they are… and Lizzy’s asking him to do just that.

Lizzy gets inside the bar, turns off the lights, and before she leaves to lock the doors she notices the lone shot glass on the bar top.  It’s now empty.

 

 

Having kept himself occupied for the time being, waiting for Lou to return to speak with her about everything he just found out, Sam walks into the living room of their house to find Derek watching Sports Center, his sock-clad feet on the coffee table while lounging on the couch.

“Derek, hey,” Sam greets while sitting down in the chair off to Derek’s side, a few items in his hands.  He places them on the end table next to him.  

“Hey,” Derek smiles.  “You catch the Pat’s game Sunday?  Jesus, what a blow out.  Brady looked like shit in a rare loss.  Maybe he’s getting old, huh?”

Sam’s forehead wrinkles.  “I, uh… don’t really follow the Patriots.”

“Right,” Derek nods.  “You’re a Kansas boy.  So… the Chiefs.  Damn, sorry man.”  He laughs at Sam’s unfortunate team designation.

“Actually, I don’t really follow sports.”

“What!?” Derek nearly shouts with disgust.  “What do you do with your life?”

“Fight monsters, mostly,” Sam deadpans.

“Right,” Derek huffs a laugh.  “No time for fun when the world is in your hands.”

“Kind of,” Sam nods in agreement.  “I mean, I used to follow sports.  As a kid.  I, uh… I was a huge fan of Brick…”

“Holmes!” Derek yells with excitement over Sam’s voice as they both say the players last name at the same time.  “Fucking legendary!  That dude was inhuman!”

“I used to watch every game I could that he played… but, it was hard.  Being in different states all the time.  Never knew what the local stations would play.”

“You moved around a lot?”

“We moved to wherever dad needed to hunt.  We never really had a home.”

“Ever!?”

“No… well, until now.”

Getting a sliver of a picture of what Sam has been though in his life, Derek moves on.  He’s not ready to hear it yet.  It’s probably terrible.  He’s thinking all hunters must have had terrible lives at one point in order to be a hunter.  “Man, his stats are nuts,” Derek shakes his head, remembering the legendary player well.  “Quarterback of a lifetime.  It’s gonna take Brady six more years of health playing to even think about beating his records.”

“Not gonna happen,” Sam says with certainty.

“Don’t be too sure,” Derek tuts before laying on his over the top Boston accent.  “My Tommy, that dood’s got the skills, kid.  You know he once saved a baby from a cah fi-ah after drinkin’, like, thirty bee-ahs in the middle of a nor-eastah?”

Sam’s face shows how confused he is by the comment.

“Jesus, tough crowd,” Derek laughs, seeing Sam for who he might really be.  A little on the stiff side.  “Dean would’ve laughed at that.”

“Dean’s a child,” Sam smiles.

“He does seem to have a little bit of a… mischievous quality about him,” Derek winks back.

“My brother’s straight,” Sam reminds.  

“The best ones always are,” Derek dramatically sighs and slumps back into his spot on the couch.

“And married.  To your sister.”

“The best ones always are,” Derek smirks and winks slickly at Sam.

“Ha-ha,” Sam fake laughs the joke off.  “So, have you put anymore thought into everything?  About, you know, hunting?”

“Yeah,” Derek nods, sitting up taller and putting his feet on the ground.  “I mean, my opinion hasn’t changed much.  I think it’s time I do something to help the world out instead of be silent and floating through life without purpose.”

“Then you could find a job at a nonprofit,” Sam speaks truthfully, making sure Derek really, fully understands the ramifications of taking on the hunting life.  “Join the Peace Corp.”

“Yeah, right,” Derek huff a laugh.  “I just finally saw the truth for the first time.  I spent years bitter and filled with hate for my own sister… scratch that, sisters… and I never believed them.  Lou went off and lived a life of heroism.  I mean, she’s saved what?  A few dozen lives at least?”

“Try hundreds,” Sam tells him very seriously but with heartfelt pride.

“And what did I do?  I joined Corporate America and became a worthless piece of shit.  I lived so selfishly. I drank too much, fucked probably too many random dudes….

“Sounds good to me!” Dean announces as he walks into the room from the kitchen.  Beer in hand, he had planned to watch some TV and veg out while Sammy keeps napping but instead he walked into a conversation he hasn’t followed enough to comment on.  But when has that ever stopped Dean?

“You wanna fuck too many dudes too?” Derek asks with a peaked interest.

“No,” he answers simply, handing Derek a beer.  “But the whole living selfishly and drinking and fucking…  _women_ … wouldn’t actually upset me all that much.”  He then hands Sam a beer also.

“Even if you knew the truth about what’s out there?” Sam pushes his brother, looking to get Derek to hear the truth from two brothers who have lived the life more fully than any others.  “Even if you knew people where dying every damn day… you’d pick a paycheck and being… indulgent?”

Dean plops onto the other end of the couch as Derek, putting the younger man between them.  “No.  I’d hunt.  Every time.”

“See!” Derek points at  Derek while looking to Sam.  “He just proved my point!”

Sam gives Derek a look before asking Dean, “And how long before you died if you picked that path in your selfish and invincible twenties?”

“First hunt.  Maybe second if I was lucky,” Dean nods, getting the whole picture of the conversation they’re having now.  

“Not helping, man,” Derek complains.

“But he’s right,” Sam hammers it all home.  “And Lou just got you back.  How do you think she’d do if you dove into hunting head first to be like her… and you died right away?”

For once, Derek stays silent.

“This is not a decision you make in a day or two,” Sam continues.  “This is not something you just jump into.  You need to think, long and hard, before you commit.”

“When did you guys decide to start hunting?” Derek asks them.

Sam huffs a disgusted laugh.  “Decide?”

Derek shakes his head and shrugs, not understanding.

“Derek, we didn’t choose this life,” Dean explains to him.  “At all.  Our mom died when we were young.  It was a demon and dad didn’t handle it well.  He took us on the road, hunted while he ditched us at motels… and when we were deemed old enough, we were trained to be like him.  There was no question.  There was no ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ conversations in our household.  There was one path.  You, on the other hand, have multiple paths.  And you have an education to boot.  Kid, you got a good thing going.  You better think long and hard before you throw all that away.  Sam would’ve killed for an education like you got.”

Sam’s face wrinkles with insult.  “I  _have_ an education like he has.”

Dean pauses, remembering.  “Well, yeah… but what’s it worth now?”

Sam’s face drops.  “Well, nothing….”

“Exactly!” Dean points at him and looks to Derek.  “Think about this.  Because right now you’re surrounded by a law degree and a GED… and we get paid the exact same to do the same shit job.”

“You get paid?” Derek’s face lightens a little.

Sam laughs a little.  “Yeah… no.”

Dean laughs to himself and puts his feet on the coffee table, boots on.  “Should get paid.  P-Diddy money,” he says quietly to himself as he takes a long drag of his beer while Derek starts to worry about his decisions.

“Look,” Sam brings Derek back.  “We know your intentions are good.  And the idea that you want to help out and do what we all do, that just shows you’re a good person.  But… you need to be ready to ditch everything else.  You’re going to throw away your achievements because, to hunting, they mean…”

“Jack with a side of shit,” Dean interrupts.

Sam rolls his eyes.  “Nice, but he right.  Your going to lose track of your friends, your roots, your belongings….”

“You know how hobos live?” Dean asks, peering at Derek out of the corner of his eyes while watching Sport Center still.  “It’s kinda like that.  But you’ll acquire a rap sheet with things like arson and grave desecration and murder over time if you’re really good.  And hey, you’re one of us.  You’d probably be really good.”  Dean nods at him to let him know he means it.

“And… if you decide after you read everything we give you and you think about it for at least a month… you need a lot of training.”

“Like,  _all_ the training,” Dean cuts in.

“Who would train me?” Derek wonders aloud.

“L,” Dean answers without thinking.

“Seriously?” Sam asks.

“Ah, she could kill me with an arm tied behind her back and holding Sammy in the other.  Who the hell is better then L at hand to hand?”

Sam nods.  “And she used to train self defence.  She’s a good teacher.”

“Damn straight.”

“And Lou could probably teach him to shoot.”

“And you can tackle the book stuff… the  _lore_ ,” Dean figures, emphasizing the last words to sound like his nerdy brother.

Sam ignores it and nods, thinking it over.  “This could work.  Hey, but, uh… what would you do?”

Dean looks surprised.  “Me?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll… supervise,” Dean sums up and ignore his brother starting now.

“Supervise?  Really?” Sam calls him out.  

“Yup.”

“So you’re gonna really get in there and help out by watching everyone else do the hard work?”

“Basically,” Dean admits.

“You know, Dean….”

“Guys?” Derek cuts off the bickering before it can really take off.  “How about I make a decision in a month from now and then we can plan this all out?”

Sam nods and Dean keep quiet, their own way of agreeing.

“Where do I start with figuring out if I want to do this then?” Derek questions.

“Well, you could start here,” Sam answers picking up the stack next to him and handing it over.

“What are these?” Derek wonders, taking the three books from him and seeing the worn, old leather of all three.  One is less destroyed then the others but they’ve all been through a battle.

“Journals,” Sam tells him.  “The bottom one is our dad’s.  The top one belonged to a guy that was part of our family too.  He meant a lot to us and he was….”

“The best damn hunter there ever was,” Dean says quickly to add in, still staring at the TV.  He can’t say much more past that.  Bobby’s death is still too much for him.

“He was,” Sam corroborate.  “His journal will probably be the clearest picture you’re going to get about a long life in hunting… which is pretty unheard of.  And the middle one… that’s your sister’s.”

Derek’s head whips up and looks at Sam.  “This is Louie’s?”

“Yeah,” Sam smiles.  “I started that for her years ago.  It was originally Lou  _and_ Lizzy’s but Lizzy….”

“Let me guess,” Derek smiles.  “Lizzy had no fucking interest and my sister got way too into it.”

“Yeah,” Sam laughs a little.  “You know them well.”

Derek shrugs.  “They’re my family.”  He’s starting to see just how important that label is to this group so he uses it wisely.

Sam grins and nods, happy to hear that from the estranged brother that once didn’t care about his own sister’s death.  “I gotta say, man.  I’m really happy you’re here.  Lou pretends shit doesn’t bother her but you… she missed you.  A lot.”

Derek smiles softly and runs his fingers over Lou’s journal.  “I might start here.”

“Good choice,” Sam nods.  “And let me know if you have questions or need me to clarify anything.”

“Will do,” he nods back and stands up.  “Think I’m gonna grab a few beers and sit out in the backyard.  Get going on this.”

“Okay,” Sam says and Derek heads for the kitchen.

Once they both hear the back sliding door open and close, Dean shoots Sam a pointed look.  “You’re trying to get in trouble, that it?”

“What?” Sam asks, confused.

“You sure you should be trying to get Derek into the life?” Dean wonders.  “And are you sure Lou won’t kill you if he decides to go for it?”

“First of all, that wasn’t a sales pitch,” Sam rebuts.  “Were you even listening?  I made hunting sound like total crap.”

“But you didn’t tell him he shouldn’t do it,” Dean counters.

“Who can?  He was raised the same as Lou and Lizzy.  You think anyone can tell any of them what to do?”

Dean nods.  “Fair point.”

“I just think it’s only fair that we give him the most realistic look at what hunting is before he can make a decision.  If he still chooses to hunt… who could stop him anyways?  At least he knows what to expect.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Dean says as his phone rings in his pocket.  He pulls it out and looks at the screen.  “Well, hot damn.”  He answers the call.  “Kevin.  How’s it going?”

Sam watches as Dean expression changes into a very concerned one.  

“Kevin?  Kevin!?” Dean tries a few more times before the call is ended on the other side.

“Something wrong?” Sam questions after the odd call.

“Guess so,” Dean says.  “Kevin just said to come quick and then… nothing.  Sounded like he fell or something and the call cut out.”

“That can’t be good.”

“No.  And we haven’t heard from him in a while.”

“Let’s go check on him,” Sam gets up and heads for the stairs.

“Uh, what about Lou?” Dean asks, also getting up.  “I can check on him myself.”

“Lou clearly needs Lizzy only right now,” Sam logics as he tries not to sound hurt.  “And I’ll call her from the road.  Let her know what’s going on and check in with her.”

“You sure, man?” Dean questions his brother’s plan.  “L would probably kick my ass if I ditched her right now.”

Sam pauses and turns around.  “If Lou needed me right now, wouldn’t she be here with me then?”

Dean thinks quick.  “Can’t fault your logic there.”

“Then let’s go.  I can deal with Lou and everything else later,” Sam says with determination and marches up the stairs to pack for a couple days.

“That seemed healthy,” Dean says to no one and heads out to the back patio to let Derek know the deal.


	11. Coming Out of the Closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed you guys! I hope to hear from you after you read the chapter! Hope all is well with everyone!

* * *

“Hey,” Lizzy half-cheerfully greets when she walks into her house.  She finds Derek and her Sammy on the floor of the living room, driving Matchbox cars along the roads of the printed rug Dean found a month back.  The area rug is designed with a city landscape and roadways, perfect for an imaginative kiddo like Sammy and his millions of tiny toy cars.

“Mommy!” Sammy calls out with a massive grin.  “Me and Uncle Derek played cars!  He likes the Mustang like Auntie Lou’s best!”

“That’s only because I’m not allowed to use the black classic Impala though,” Derek rebuts.

“No!  That’s Baby,” Sammy reminds him sternly.  “Only me used that one.”

“Hey!  You __could__ share, Sammy baby,” Lizzy reprimands as Lou books it behind her up the stairs, ignoring everyone else in the house.  Soon after, a door slams on the second floor.

“I shared!” Sammy fights back right away.  “But Baby mine!”

“It’s true,” Derek laughs.  “I have free reign over all cars but one.  He’s been an excellent sharer.”

“Well then, that’s what I like to hear,” Lizzy grins at her son.  “Did you have lunch?”

“Yep.”  Sammy barely looks at her, continuing instead on driving his cars around.

“Well, good then,” Lizzy nods, happy to hear her boy is taken care of.  “Where’s Cassie?”

“Mm-mm,” Sammy shrugs.

Lizzy looks to Derek and he shrugs too.  “No idea.  Haven’t seen him since Sam talked to him in the backyard.”

Lizzy nods, looking around.  It’s awfully quiet.  She’s about to ask about it when the bedroom door upstairs flies open and they hear Lou shout, “Where’s Sam!?”

“Uncle Sam leaved,” Sammy says, still playing.

“He left?  Where?” Lizzy asks, the pounding of petite feet slamming down the stairs in the background.

“He and Dean left about fifteen minutes ago,” Derek fills them in.  “Some guy named Kevin called and they asked me to watch Sammy until you got back.  Said they’d be gone a few days.”

“Seriously!?” Lou lights up with happiness.  

Lizzy shoots her a warning look.  Right now she should be running to Sam.  Instead, she’s happy he’s gone.  What the hell?  Lizzy looks back at Derek and asks, “Is Dean waiting for a call?”

“He said you’d ask and he said to tell you yes.”  Derek smiles.  “He’s a good one.”

“Yeah, he’s not bad,” Lizzy half blushes at the thought.

“I gotta make some calls,” Lou blurts and rushes back up the stairs, disappearing into her room again.

“Louie alright?” Derek wonders as Sammy drives a car up his arm.

“She’s… processing things,” Lizzy lies and pulls her phone from her back pocket.  “It’s a little messy.”

“It’s fucking horrible, is what it is,” Derek responds.

“No, Uncle Derek!” Sammy scolds loudly as he presses a small hand over Derek’s mouth.

Derek shares a confused look with Lizzy.

“You swore,” she informs him.  “The big one, at that.”

“You no say that,” Sammy emphatically tells him.  “That’s bad!”

Derek then answers, making it extra unintelligible on purpose with Sammy still blocking his mouth.  Sammy releases his hand.  “I’m sorry, buddy.  I’m used to talking to only grown ups.  I’m not used to talking around kids.”

“You no say that to anybody, Uncle Derek,” Sammy wags a finger in his face.  “Mommy say that bad for all people.”

Derek’s eyes grow wide.  He huffs a laugh.  “I’m really gonna have to get used to things around here.”

“Don’t make me take out the swear jar we had to use once Sammy got old enough to learn from our words,” Lizzy winks at him.

“You’d put more money in it than anyone else!” Derek counters.

“I’m still broke from it,” she jokes.  “So please, don’t make me reinstate the swear jar!”

“I’ll do my best,” Derek smiles.

She then walks to the kitchen to make a call.  Dialing Dean’s number, she sits into a stool at the island and lets the phone ring.  Only twice and Dean answers.

“Ah, I see you got my message,” Dean says, clearly smiling to hear from her.

“Couldn’t even wait to say goodbye?”

“I don’t know how long girl time was supposed to last.”

“How’s Kevin?” Lizzy needs to know, having a soft spot for the tragic teen thrown into the shit that is their life undeserved and unwillingly.  “Is he alright?”

“We don’t know,” Dean admits.  “He called, said to come quick, and the phone cut out.  Then he never answered any calls back we made.”

“Oh, no,” Lizzy groans and blows out a breath.  “Poor kid.”

“We’re just gonna catch up with him, see what he’s found if anything….”

“And bring him bar-b-que!” Lizzy interrupts immediately, a memory coming to her.  

“What?  Why?” Dean asks in an almost complaint.

“Because it’s his favorite,” Lizzy answers like it’s obvious.

“How do you know that?”

“Because we stopped at a bar-b-que joint with him after we met and, even though he was scared shitless, he ate almost a whole rack himself.  He told me it was his favorite food after I joked about his appetite.”

“So, now I gotta find a rib joint near Garth’s house boat?” Dean bitches to her with her added task.

Lizzy stays silent a beat so she doesn’t smack him through the phone.  “That kid has been locked away, translating impossible ancient texts for months.  For us.  He hasn’t asked for anything….”

“I get it, I get it,” Dean stops her.  She can hear practically the eye roll.  “I’ll get him ribs.”

“All the ribs,” Lizzy corrects.

“All the ribs,” he agrees.  “But I’m not wasting any more time than that on getting to him.  He sounded bad.”

“Bad?” her heart drops even lower.  “How bad?”

“I don’t know… bad-bad,” Dean tells her.  “But whatever it is going on, I’ll check it out and give you a full report.  Then, you can make a laundry list of crap you need me to do to make sure he’s fine and I’ll do about half of it.”

Lizzy smiles so wide it hurts.  “I like honest you.”

“Yeah, you’re just dragging it outta me one day at a time.”  Dean grins.  “Hey, uh… how’s Lou?”

Lizzy pauses.  “She’s… is Sam with you?”

“Yes.”

“Awake?”

“Uh, yeah….”

“Okay, in that case… she’ll survive.  It’s pretty rough, but Lou is a tough girl.”

Dean pauses on the other line and she knows he’s processing the truth behind Lizzy’s words.  Lou is not okay.  Not at all.  But they aren’t talking about that right now.  Now’s not the time.  

“That she is,” Dean eventually says.  “You good with Sammy for a little bit?”

“Do I have a choice?” Lizzy counters with a small laugh.  “I’m good.  I missed him while we were in Louisiana.  We’ll get some good mommy-Sammy time in, and he’ll get to know Derek.  He’ll miss you a lot though.”

“I know,” Dean’s voice drops.  “He cried when I told him.”

“Oh, Hot Shot.”  Lizzy’s heart breaks for Dean.  “He’ll be okay.  There are dads that spend plenty of time traveling for work out there.  Their kids survive just fine.”

“Yeah…” Dean trails off, clearly thinking.

“Dean?” Lizzy stops what she knows what he’s already doing to himself.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t.  You’re not John.”

“Dad left us for work all too often, just saying.”

“You left him with his mother and family while you checked on a kid that really needs you.  That is not at all the same.  Sammy’s not wanting for anything and his home isn’t on wheels.”

“By some kind of miracle,” Dean answers, still clearly impressed he’s managed to not screw up their kid yet.  “I’m gonna get back as soon as I can.”

“But only once you know Kevin is safe and healthy, right?” Lizzy checks in and keeps him focused.  “He clearly needs some hind of help.  Make sure he gets it.  He’s young and alone and all this shit we deal with is scary.  Stay with him for a few days?  Please?  He has to be going crazy being alone like that for so long.”

“Yeah.  Kid’s gotten a pretty raw deal,” Dean admits.  “We’ll make sure he’s good.  I know you got Sammy.”

“But you miss him already?” Lizzy grins, peeking in at their son playing with his newly found uncle.  

“Yeah,” Dean easily admits.

“You miss me, too?” Lizzy grins wider, her voice dropping a touch.

“Always,” Dean answers with a little dark edge to his tone.  “Never got a proper welcome-back-home night before I had to leave again.”  Dean can see the grossed out look Sam shoots him in his periphery, but Dean chooses to ignore it.

Lizzy laughs.  “Well, put it this way; you give Kevin a couple days of your time… I’ll give you several hours of my time.”

“What kind of time?”

“Night time,” Lizzy laughs again.  “And naked time.”

“French maid time!?” Dean asks, his voice turning into that of an excited kid being told he’s going to Disney.

“Dude!” Sam complains beside him.  Dean flips him off without even looking at him, eyes still on the road.

“Sure.  It’s been a while since I put that one on,” Lizzy promises.  “Hell, you make sure Kevin’s a happy little prophet… I might even put on the Zorro mask.”

Dean inhales sharply before realizing he needs to keep his composure while driving with his brother.  “Deal.  That’s… that’s a deal.  Definitely.”

“Drive safe,” Lizzy tells him.

“Watch that kid, huh?  And tell Lou to call Sam.”  Dean hangs up.

“Will do.”  She hangs up and sits at one of the island stools in the kitchen.  She drops her phone down on the island top, thuds her elbows on the surface, and buries her face into her hands.  

So much is happening.  So much to process.

Lou is having a child.

Lou won’t tell Sam about the child.

Sam and Lou’s child is meant to be the Antichrist of all Antichrists.

Destiny has their balls in a vice grip once again.  Lou’s kid will battle her Sammy in the true Apocalypse.

Derek is back.

Derek wants to hunt.

Derek wants full in and she’s not sure he can do it.  Or should do it.

Kevin is in danger possibly.

She hasn’t thought about poor Kevin in so long she’s embarrassed.

Dean is once again on the road for a few days.

She’s Sammy’s sole parent for the foreseeable few days.

She has to somehow help and support Lou, figure out what to do with Derek, raise Sammy to be a good man and somehow keep him away from hunting, and keep the bar/hunter’s hub running while Lou goes through whatever it is she’s going through right now.

FUCK.

* * *

 

“Kid. You’re nasty!” Derek laughs as he carries Sammy on his hip into the little boy’s bedroom.  “You eat like a pig.”

“I no Piggy!” Sammy reprimands and makes a mad face.  

“No… you just eat like one,” Derek returns with as he once more eyes over what was once a clean outfit.  Sammy’s covered in food.  It’s even in his hair.  “Alright, mom said she’s getting your bath ready.  We need to pick out new jammies and meet her in the bathroom.  Where do you keep your pajamas?”

“Here,” Sammy points to the dresser.  Derek puts him down and lets Sammy open the correct drawer.

“Cool!  You dig batman too!?” Derek gets appropriately excited when he yanks out a one piece batman pajama suit.  It looks like the bat suit and has a black cape attached to the back.  

“I’m Batman!” Sammy says with his hands on his hips, a grimace, and a low, intimidating voice.  

“What!?” Derek blurts out laughing.  “O. M. G.  Kid!  Where did you learn that?”

“Daddy,” Sammy says simply as he takes the pajamas from his uncle.

“Okay, if you guys want me to not hit on your dad, like, everyday… we need to stop revealing things like this to me.”

“Hit daddy?” Sammy gets upset at the idea.

“Hit?” Derek gets confused before it dawns on him.  “Oh!  Not hit!  Hit __on__.  Like… compliment.”

“Comp-a-ment?” Sammy asks.

“You know what?  Forget about it,” Derek says, waving the whole thing off.  “I’ll help explain when you’re older.  Especially if you end up into boys.”

Sammy just stares at his uncle, lost.

“Damn.  Alright, bath time….”

A bright light bursts through the small bedroom as the closet door flies open, hitting the wall behind it.  A body hurls into the room, rolling onto the carpet and hitting Sammy’s car-shaped bed.  In a blink, the inexplicable light dims and the door slams shut again.  

Derek just stands there, frozen in place.  His eyes are glued to the form of an adult man in a tailored suit quickly trying to get up from the ground after magically blasting himself into the room out of thin air.   

Once standing, the man is taller than Derek.  He turns, locks eyes with Derek, and asks, “Are you John Winchester?”

Derek’s mouth gapes as his heart pounds.  He can’t speak.  No words will come.  John Winchester?  Shit, wasn’t that Dean and Sam’s dad?  He wrote one of the journals Sam gave him to read that he hadn’t gotten to yet, right?

“Time is of the essence.  Are you John Winchester?” the man asks urgently, his eyes sliding to Sammy standing there in quiet fright as he hugs Derek’s leg with fear.

“I… uh, no,” Derek stutters out, absolutely shocked and scared.  “Not… John.”

“That’s impossible.  That’s absolutely….”  He trails off, speaking to himself.  “What did I do wrong?”

“Louie!” Derek screams out when he realizes this is way over his head.  “Lou!  Lizzy!”

“I did the spell as it was written in the text,” the man rambles on some, clearly trying to figure it all out.

Derek is shaking with fear now.  “LOUIE!!”

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Lou rubs her forehead as she sits behind her laptop on her bed.  A search is up, the closest pin to Smith Center about an hour away.

An hour.  Perfect.  She can get there, get the abortion, and get home quickly before Sam gets back.  She hopes.  

Picking up her cell phone, Lou dials the number to make an appointment and get the ball rolling.  She then tries to press send but her thumb pauses.  It won’t budge.  

“Fuck,” Lou whispers to herself.  No matter how much she understands that she has to do it, this baby can’t be, she can’t do it.  She can’t make that call.

Dropping her phone onto the comforter, the internal struggle hits hard.  Can she do this?  She knows she needs to but… can she actually do this?

All she’s been through in her life and this is by far the hardest decision she’s faced.  Another stint in Purgatory sounds pretty damn good right about now, over this.

__Louie!  Lou!  Lizzy!_ _

Her head whips up with the horror in Derek’s voice as he obviously screams for help.  Without thought, everything else is dumped and she’s on her feet.  Lou sprints through her door and to the sound of Derek’s voice shouting yet again for her.  

When she reaches Sammy’ bedroom door, she sharply stops when a second, unknown adult is in her nephew’s room.  

“Who the fuck are you?” she booms out as she can hear Lizzy stop mid-stair-climb behind her.  She’ll be there soon for backup and she knows it.  

“Not now,” the stranger says.  “I’m thinking.”

His response has Lou taken aback for a quick second.  “Excuse me, but you just broke into my house.  I’d like to know who it is I’m about to beat into a fucking pulp.”

“Please, I assure you there is no need for violence….”

“He came out of the closet,” Derek interjects with a heightened, pointed voice.  

“Like you did?” Lou asks, not getting the Derek meant it literally.

“He flew out of the closet!  With a bright light!” Derek clarifies in a panic, pointing at the unknown man.  “He flew out of the damn closet!”

Lizzy arrives and walks through the doorway past Lou, her gun out and aimed on the stranger in her son’s room.  Lou’s handgun is tucked into the back of her jeans and Lou yanks it out, also aiming.

“Please, ladies, put the guns down.  One of you must be John Winchester,” the stranger won’t give up.

“I’m sorry, John Winchester?” Lizzy needs to make sure she heard right.

“Yes.  It is of utmost importance.”

“Well, you’re shit outta luck, whoever you are,” Lizzy states plainly.  “John’s not here.”

The stranger’s face falls.  He looks around the room, avoiding eye contact for a solid five seconds while thinking.  “How?”

“Who are you again?” Lizzy asks, ready to know why someone is breaking into her house and asking about her father-in-law she never met.

“Well, ladies, gentlemen,” he nods at both groups one at a time.  “In the absence of any and all explanations, I’m afraid this has been a marvelous, tragic misunderstanding.  I’ll be on my way.”  He makes a couple steps for the bedroom door to leave the house.

“Uh, no fucking way,” Lou stands her ground and keeps him in the room by blocking his exit.

“Derek, take Sammy into the living room.  Put on Nemo and turn it up loud, please,” Lizzy says with an almost warning tone.

“Loud and clear,” Derek answers, picking up Sammy.

“Who that man?” Sammy stage whispers to his uncle as they walk for the door.  Lou let’s them pass, gun on the stranger to ensure he stays.  

“Not a clue, kid.  But mommy and Louie will figure it out, okay?”

“Kay,” Sammy answers.  “We watch Nemo?”

“Yes sir,” Derek answers nervously as they head down the stairs and leave the very tense situation upstairs.

“Okay, so… some guy dressed in some throwback vintage suit supposedly busts into my son’s room through a closet… and you just expected us to let you leave?”

“Well, from what I am gathering from your reaction to me, I have a strong feeling this is all beyond your understanding, my oddly female alpha-monkey friends,” the man explains with an air of superiority.

“Excuse the fuck outta you!?” Lou gets angry with that.

“I’m assuming you’re hunters.  How two women became hunters is far past my comprehension, but it lets me know you could not understand what is happening here.  Violence is not the answer here and I suggest you let me leave before I do what I must.”

Lizzy huffs a laugh.  “What are you, from the 50’s?”

“How did you know?” he asks her.

The two hunters remain silence with that nugget of information.

“Holy crap,” Lizzy shakes her head.  “You time traveled, huh?”

“You know about time travel?” he looks at her with a very confused and shocked face.

“Oh, you know, done it once or twice,” she smirks with a little satisfaction after being so underestimated.

He looks at her with shock.  “But… how?  Are you a member?”

“Member of?” Lizzy questions.

There’s a loud rattling sound that breaks the conversation.  

“What is that?” he asks, looking to the closet.  “Oh my god.”

“What?” Lou asks, eyes wide as the door lights up behind it.

“Run!” he says and he sprints for the door while shoving Lizzy and Lou out.

“What’s happening!?” Lizzy asks, going on autopilot.  She flies down the stairs with Lou in front of her and Henry behind.  There’s a loud bursting sound coming from the upstairs as the mystery man yanks open the front door.

“Everyone out!  Now!” he panics, sprinting for Derek and pulling him by the upper arm, dragging him out the door.

“Who the fuck is this!?” Derek asks, seeing Lizzy snatching up Sammy from the floor as Lou grabs a duffle bag hidden in a decorative cabinet by the front door.

“Everyone in the car!” Lou yells as they hear someone calling out from the upper floor.

“Henry!?” a clear, almost joyful voice calls out to him.  “Where are you, Henry?”

The man freezes at the doorway, his body frozen.  “No.”

“Who the hell is that!?” Lizzy asks, Sammy clinging to her with fear.

“She’s here,” he mutters.  “We all need to get out!”

“Come on!” Lou yanks everyone one by one out the door.   She then rushes ahead, opens the Mustang driver’s door, and ushers everyone inside the small car.  By the time everyone packs into the tiny car, the front door to the house opens with a shove.

“There you are,” the red head says calmly, smiling at the packed car and seeing the man she followed through a car window.

“Drive!” he calls out from the backseat and Lou floors it, speeding down the road and out of the neighborhood as quickly as they can. 

* * *

 

“...the spell has to be spoken after you finish each of the three trials.”

Dean and Sam just look to each other a second, processing what Kevin tells them as they stand in the middle of Garth’s boat, across from Kevin’s table filled with a disarray of pages and other materials.

“Trials?  Like, uh, like "Law & Order"?” Sam wonders, not getting it.

Dean hands Sam the page of notes that Kevin previously handed him.

“More like Hercules. The tablet says, ‘Whosoever chooses to undertake these tasks should fear not danger, nor death, nor…’ A word I think means getting your spine ripped out through your mouth for all eternity,” Kevin tries to explain all that he’s been able to decipher.

“Good times,” Dean comments with a little fear.

“Basically, God built a series of tests, and when you've done all three, you can slam the gates,” Kevin clarifies.

Sam’s eyes go wide.  “So, what?  God wants us to take the SATs?”

“I… I guess,” Kevin huffs a laugh before joking, “Uh, he works in mysterious ways.”

“Yeah, mysterious, douche-y ways,” Dean rolls his eyes.  “so… how does this all work?  What do we have to do?”

“I've only been able to crack one of the tests so far, and it's gross,” Kevin makes sure they understand. “You've got to kill a hound of hell and bathe in its blood.”

“Okay,” Dean nods, thinking a moment about how hard and very dangerous this task is.  “Doable.”

“What!?” Sam asks his brother, surprised with his outward lack of panic.

“Hey, if this means icing all demons and making a better, safer world for Sammy to live in… I got no problem gutting some devil dog and letting Calgon take me away.”

“Dean.  You have a son.  You can’t just run head first at hellhound.”

“Oh no?  Sam, if we do this… you could have a family,” Dean spells it out.  “No Hell, no demons… no need for an Apocalypse.”

Sam goes silent when Dean points out one huge advantage to following through with this whole thing.  Shutting Hell could shut down the entirety of Heaven and Hell’s fighting.  Heaven would have nothing to fight.  He and Lou could safely have a family.  They could have a child without fear for its future.

Dean grabs Sam’s shoulder and looks right at him.  “Sammy, we gotta do this.  It’s the answer.  To it all.”

Sam nods to his brother and exhales.  This is the answer.  His brother is right.

“So… you’re in?” Kevin asks them when he gets left out of the conversation for a while.

“Oh yeah, Kev,” Dean lets him know, both brothers turning to face the prophet again.  “Totally in.”

“Great.  Now… where are you gonna find a hellhound?”

“Well, Hellhounds like to collect on crossroads deals. So, all we got to do is track down some loser who signed over his special sauce 10 years ago, get between him and Clifford the big dead dog.”  Dean nods with his own plan.  “Easy.”

Kevin narrows his eyes.  “Doesn't sound easy.”

“It's not,” Sam confirms.

“It is if it means a life for our family,” Dean rebuts while pointing at Sam quickly.  “Look, you get on the net, see what you can dig up.  Find us a hellhound… somehow.  I'm gonna go for a supply run.   The kid needs to eat something that's not ground-up hooves and pigs' anuses because if I don’t get him a couple hundred salads and some ribs, L’s gonna kill me.”

“Ribs!?” Kevin perks way up.  His eyes are wider than a kid on Christmas morning.  

“My wife has a thing for strays,” Dean jokes at first.  “She remembered you liked ribs.  So, she made me promise to get you ribs, along with some roughage, some fruit, and some sleep.”

Kevin smiles wide.  “She sounds like my mom.”

“Then your mom must be awesome,” Dean comments back.  “I’ll be back.”

Dean leaves.

As soon as the boat door closes, Kevin silently walks to his laptop and slides it across the table to Sam.  “Here.”

“Thanks,” Sam half smiles and looks over the young kid.  

He’s disheveled and thin.  His eyes are sunken and dark circled.  His clothes are dirty, his hair is greasy… Kevin is a disaster.  And he feels guilty for it all.

“Hey, Kevin?” Sam calls for the teen’s attention as he riffles through some notes.  He pauses and looks to Sam.  “Buddy, you got to slow down.”

Kevin laughs a little.  “What?”

“Get some shut-eye. Take a day off. Open a window,” Sam sweeps a hand around to the closed boat windows that are clouded with dirt and time.

“No,” he shakes his head.  “You said nuking hell, that's how I get out. That's how I go home.”

“Right,” Sam nods.  “It is, absolutely.  But you can't live like this.”

“You think I want to?” Kevin asks, a sharp edge to his tone.  “I hate it here. I can't leave because every demon on the planet wants to peel my face off. I can't talk to anyone except you guys or Garth, when he swings by, or my mom. Right? And when she calls, all she does is cry. I just... I need this to be over.  And I’m not stopping or slowing down until I do.”

“I know. I do. But trust me on this… this whole ‘saving the world’ thing,  it's a marathon, not a sprint. You got to take better care of yourself.”

Kevin clenches his teeth for a second before taking a deep breath.  “That’s easy for you to say.”

“What?” Sam asks, confused.

“You live in a house.  That’s clean and has real food in it all the time.  You can go to the grocery store if you need something.  You have a hot wife and a family.  You always have someone to talk to that talks back to you.  It’s really easy to stand there and tell me to take time for myself and care for myself, but dude,  I don’t have that luxury.”

Sam nods, taking in the anger Kevin rightfully feels for a second.  “I get it.  You’ve been in the shit for a long time.  But I paid my dues, Kevin.  You think this place is any better than the flea bag motels Dean and I lived in our whole lives until this past year?  You think dad always had money for food for us?  Or even cared if we didn’t?  And I’m still dealing with my own fate that sucks, okay?  I get that you’ve been given a raw deal… but you’re not the only one.  But take it from someone that __always__ been there… take care of yourself and make it through all this.  The whole point is to do good __and__ stay alive to enjoy it.”

Kevin pauses before sitting down into a metal chair at the table in the middle of the boat.  He looks at his hands, blinking back some tears before shaking the emotions off.  “I just want to get out of here.”

“And you will,” Sam nods.  “We’ll figure this out and get you outta here.  As soon as we can.  Now… go take a shower before the ribs get here.  You’re pretty ripe, man.”  Sam smiles a little.

Kevin nods and gets up, agreeing completely.  “I was aware that I smelled, like, five days ago.  Then… I didn’t even notice anymore.”

“Not a good sign,” Sam huffs a laugh.  “Get going.”

Kevin walks away to clean up and Sam gets to work on finding a hellhound.  Maybe the massive task of undergoing whatever these trials are will help clear his head about Lou and their destiny for a bit. Then he’ll be ready to face it all.

* * *

 “Pull over!”

“Not yet,” Lou shakes her head as she books it down the empty back road, not willing to slow down until they’re somewhere safe.

“Pull over now!”

Lizzy peeks back at the man in the backseat.  “Lou, he’s looking green.”

“Are you gonna puke in my car!?” Lou panics.

“Not if you pull over this instant,” the mystery man tells her.

Lou pulls over to the shoulder of the road and flies out of the driver’s seat.  She yanks her seat forward just in time for the mysterious closet traveller to lean out head first and throw up onto the shoulder of the road.

“Ugh,” Lou groans, watching him.  “Dude, you alright?”

“Yes, I will be.”  He then vomits one last time.  With a groan, he carefully gets out of the very cramped Mustang and pulls a handkerchief from his pocket.   He wipes his mouth and takes a deep breath while Lizzy pulls Sammy out of the backseat where he was sitting on Derek’s lap.  “It's just all the adventures I enjoy are usually of the literary nature.”

“You mind telling us who the hell it was we just ran away from?” Lou asks, grabbing Derek’s hand to help him out of the car.

“Abaddon. She's a demon,” the man tells them.

“No kidding. Where'd she come from?” Lou keeps asking.

“She's from Hell.”

“Okay.  And where did you come from?” Lizzy asks, walking to stand next to Lou and figure out what just happened.  

“I'm from Normal, Illinois, in 1958,” he answers easily.

“Well, fucking great!” Lou shouts with that information.  “Dudes are Bill and Ted-ding our fucking closets!  That’s what we’ve come to these days!?”

“Chill,” Lizzy reminds her, nodding her head to Sammy in her arms.  “Any reason you travelled to our house?”

“I was aiming for John Winchester,” he explains.  “If you could just take me to John, we could clear all this up, I'm sure.”

“That’s not going to happen… whoever you are?” Lizzy tells him in an even and warm tone as clearly this man doesn’t know John’s fate.

“My name is Henry.”

“Oh,” Lizzy says with pure sadness, her heart skipping when she figures it out.  She knows the name Henry.  

“What?” Lou asks, wanting to know what she’s figured out.

“Normal, Illinois… that’s where John was born,” Lizzy explains, having read enough about her family in Chuck’s books and Johns journal by now.  “His father was named Henry.”

Lou’s face drops and she turns sharply to gape at Henry.

“Please, I just need to see John….”

“Henry, John passed about seven years ago,” Lizzy lets him know with pain in her voice.

“No,” Henry’s heart plummets.

“I’m so sorry,” Lizzy tells him.

“He can’t be….”

“Okay, we got a ton to unpack here, but I suggest we haul ass to a motel and ward up before the demon catches up,” Lou makes a plan.  “Everyone back in the car.”  Lou then leans into Lizzy and quietly tells her, “You need to call them.”

Lizzy nods and they all get right back into the car, Henry still looking quite sick but for a brand new reason.

“What happened?” Henry asks the people he’s with as they cram back into the Mustang.  “Who are you poeple and how do you know my son?”

“We’re family,” Lizzy calmly says, getting into the backseat next to Henry with Sammy on her lap.  “And I’ll explain everything once I make a call or two.  Just hang in there, okay?”

* * *

“Hey, did you know that there are, like, 6,000 kinds of tomatoes?” Dean asks as he opens the squealing door of the boat and announcing his presence.

“It’s kinda like all vegetables and fruits,” Kevin comments, rereading a particular page of notes, not remembering what his writing actually meant.  “There’s probably at least a couple hundred different kinds of apples.”

“More like 75-hundred,” Sam comments, eyes glued to the laptop screen.

“What?” Dean scoffs at Sam’s correction as he places the several plastic bags of food onto the table the other two are working at.  “That can’t be right.”

“It is,” Sam nods, clicking the keys with confidence.

“The world doesn’t need over seven thousand different apples to choose from,” Dean tells him.  “There should be, like, two.”

“Two?” Sam laughs a little.  

“Yeah.  Red and green,” Dean cleans his hands in gesture twice.  “Done and done.”

“Over seven thousand, five hundred apple varieties throughout the world,” Sam reads and shows Dean the computer screen.

He reads the information.  “That’s total bullshit.  The internet is about 80 percent false.”

“How do you figure?” Sam rebuts with disbelief.

“You get the ribs!?” Kevin cuts in, his nostrils flaring with the smell of bar-b-que sauce and slow cooked pork.

“Yeah, kid.  I got all the ribs… as I was told to,” Dean rolls his eyes, remembering Lizzy’s instructions.  “Four racks.  Spread that out over a few days, huh?”

Kevin grabs at the bag with a cartoon pig on it and snatches up the first Styrofoam box he sees.  He rips it open, inhales once, and smiles a real smile for the first time in longer than he can remember.  “Oh my god.”

“Dig in,” Dean tells him, eyeing him over.  “You take a shower or something?”

“He had to,” Sam jokes a little.

“Yes he did,” Dean nods as his phone begins to ring.  He pulls it out of his pants pocket, smiles when he sees Lizzy’s name, and answer the call.  “Dean’s house of love.”

__You need to come home right now._ _

“What?” Dean asks, his pulse already racing.

 _ _Long story, but we need you guys here ASAP.  We’ve run into some demon trouble.  I’ll text you the motel we end up at.__ Don’t __go home.__

“We’re leaving now,” Dean ends the call immediately and looks at Sam.  “Pack it up.  We gotta go.”

“Who?” Sam asks.

“All of them.  Demon’s on their asses,” Dean shortly explains and heads for the door.  “Kevin, we’ll call you once everything’s sorted out.  Get a game plan.”

“Yeah, okay,” he nods.  “Let me know they’re alright, huh?”

“Will do,” Dean nods and rushes out of the boat and to the Impala, Sam hot on his heels.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Finally! This chapter flew out of me yesterday! Ah! I feel ready for this!
> 
> So, this is all I have done. Generally, I like to wait until a story is done to post any chapters but I got too excited for this one. Sam and Lou off to help out Lou's estranged brother, Dean and Lizzy looking to find Benny and see what he's been up to in a very high-tension situation, and (best of all) babysitter Cass! Very excited to get back to it. My little chickadee doesn't make free time easy, but I promise to do my best to update whenever I can! Love you all! Thank you for the endless patience!


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